The Chipenden Spook
by spookslastapprentice
Summary: This story is my version of what happens after the fist book in the Starblade Chronicles! Please DO NOT read if you don't want spoilers on A New Darkness(all rights go to Joseph Delaney and his books).
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Shaiksa Assassin**

My name is Thomas Ward, as of right now I am the Chipenden Spook. Although it has been a struggle and an life changing experience to get where I am now and the knowledge I have yet to share, within a moment, I almost had everything taken away from me.

I'd have to say I've took in many unbelievable decisions that no one should be forced to make. Some, I had no say in at all. I've done and seen things only I could describe. A life as a Spook is difficult, yes. But someone has to do it.

As I come to recall, no matter how many dark memories I have encountered, I realize good eventually comes within. And sometimes, as fortunate as things could possibly get, luck is right by your side.

I remember the night as if it had just been yesterday. To start further off, within less of a year, my life moved from one place, to another traumatically. I had succeed in the battle against the Fiend, but to come with a terrible cost. My own master, John Gregory, had lost his life. Not to mention the loss of a deep friendship, with the person I held dearest, Alice Deane.

Im going through a overwhelming mixture of feelings these days. You see, it started with the end of the Fiend. A new powerful god will rise, Talkus, taking the form of a Skelt. The threat has been taken in a land far from my home in Chipenden. Which is why I am here, in a land far different than mine. Or so it seems...

I've been forced to fight the Shaiksa assassin, Kauspetnd. I've been pretending to be something I'm not. I've been listening to orders, that little did I know would get me killed. I am a Spook, right? Or was at the least... Spooks need to do what they feel is right and rely on their instincts to make the best decisions possible. I took orders and in no where named did I object. I have an apprentice, Jenny Calder... I've many things that I need to attend to, and sort out on my own. So many things...

But there I was. Alive. You see, when I had fought the assassin, we had a suspenseful fight. It had cost him his life, but not before he took mine. I had been pierced in the torso with one of Kauspetnd's blades. The pain had surged through me as I fell to my knees, trying to capture and save all the air I could. Obviously the experience was unbearable and ended quickly, and the last thing me remembering was the death of the assassin, and the crowd coming to a complete and utter silence.

That was it.

I knew I was dying, and I knew I would be dead in seconds. Unfortunately, that's exactly how it happened.

I've been told, that Grimalkin had rushed me to shelter, so she could aid my gash. The healing process began, but, they told me, it didn't complete before I was long gone. So as it was, I was dead and had to be buried. I was put in my coffin, and was about to be taken under, when the most impossible thing happened, that gave me, a second chance at life...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Out of the coffin**

I awoke. My head was whirling my legs were numb and there were cuts all over my body. But most of all, the pain coming from my chest was unbelievable. I wanted to see what was wrong. I needed to, because frankly, I hadn't a clue what had happened for me to be in this state.

Confused I opened my eyes slowly and looked around me. There, in the pitch blackness, was nothing to see. I was covered in a sheet.

"Where am I? Who am I?" I whispered into the blackness.

I needed to get out and have a look around. So saying, I started to slowly move my arms along the wall of which surrounded me. I started to figure out that I was in a rectangular box. How could I get out? I tried pushing to two sides, but to no avail would they open. I tried the top. It worked! All I needed to do was be able to push it completely open so I could get out. So I started to push. As hard as I could. It wouldn't open fully! So tried and tried, but the pain from my chest had been keeping back all of the strong power I need to use.

But I didn't have to open it. It opened by itself, by someone on the outside.

It was nighttime, the the moons light lit the box brightly compared to the pitch darkness it had before.

It took me awhile to stand up. It took all of my willpower. But when I did, I saw something strange.

A girl with black hair and blades across her chest was standing closest to me, with a younger girl a few paces behind her. Multiple people were behind them, looking just as surprised and a little scared. Why did they look like this?

I held onto the edges of the box, trying to keep my balance, as the blade woman walked toward me slowly.

"Who are you? Get away from me!" I yelled, my breath fogging into the night.

She kept on approaching as I tried to escape the box. You see, the box would have been easy to escape, if it weren't for the pain I was experiencing. Everything I was doing took all the strength I had. Sitting up, standing up, lifting my legs, lifting my arms...

She got so close that she was standing right out of the box.

"You're alive..." She gasped. She held out her hand to help pull me out.

"Thomas, how do you feel? You need rest, and we need to attend to your gash."

By then, with enough trouble, I had gotten out of the box. She was walking away, still talking, as I stood there. She turned around and looked at me.

"What are you doing? Don't you want to be healed?" She looked like she was agitated that I had stopped walking with her.

Everyone was shifting around uneasily, making uneasy notices probably because they were scared or confused.

I spoke with a trembling whisper.

"What do you mean?"

I shook my head in frustration. Raking my brain for any past information of what she was saying. Obviously she was talking about events that happened before I woke up in the box.

The problem was, I couldn't remember them. And I couldn't remember the people who were standing before me. That is, if I had known them all.

"Thomas? Who's Thomas? And why should I trust you? Out of all people the one with the blades is the one I should follow?"

Her anger had gone and she looked at me in a panic.

"Are you telling me that," she paused, and this time when her voice spoke it was much quieter. "That you don't remember what happened? You don't remember who you are?"

That's when the noises stopped. The shifting. All the noise ceased. And everyone looked straight at me.

"No, I'm sorry, but I don't."

The younger girl gasped. The woman walked towards me again, but I wasn't afraid this time. She came up to me and stood about four paces away. Then she spoke.

"Well, your name is Thomas Ward. You've been through a lot lately and by the looks of it your going to be through a hell lot more-"

"Grimalkin, what are you doing?" The girl said in a shouted whisper. I was just as confused as she was, but "Grimalkin" apparently was her name, kept her eyes on me and started to speak once more.

"I am going to ask you something and I want you to think about this as hard as you possibly can." She then spoke slowly. "Do you remember anything before you died?"

That was when I full out bursting with anger.

"Dead? Are you telling that I died? What are you talking about? And you decide to tell me that just now? Don't you know I'm confused as anything and you just think the best thing to tell me is that I died?"

She waited till I had stopped yelling to speak.

"Sometimes the truth hurts, I won't deny it." She glanced down at my chest. Exactly where the pain was coming from. I knew she wanted me to follow her gaze, so I did. Slowly I looked down to find something that caught my breath. My eyes widened in horror, as I saw the wound. There were scales, green scales growing on my skin over the cut. It looked as if the scales were my own body trying to heal itself.

I looked up and took a few steps back as I tried to speak but no words came out.

Grimalkin looked at me, with a depressed look, and it wasn't one of pity.

"What happened to me?" I stuttered.

She sighed and looked me straight in the eye.

"You were fighting an assassin just a few days ago. You had killed him, but, as you can see, he hadn't went down for nothing. I tried to save you, but I failed. I'm ashamed to say I didn't foresee your death. I had no idea of the out come of the fight. You lost your life, and we had you in the coffin ready for burial. That's when a white winged figure came here and did something to the coffin that I can not yet explain. But your back, your alive again."

I was silent. I said nothing. If I did, questions would have poured out of my mouth like there was no tomorrow. Well, there was going to be a tomorrow. A tomorrow of me and for everyone.

But the difference between me and them, was that they had a yesterday.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Worse by the Day**

We didn't really say much after that. I knew that if I said anything more, it would come out wrong. I really didn't want to be rude. The reason of me saying that is because,well... I was being rude. And I felt bad for it. Hadn't she told me that she tried to save my life? And all I did was stand there, yelling on about her words. She was just trying to help with my confusion, and I should have thanked her for it.

Besides, she probably is frustrated at the thought of my memory loss. I could tell, because at that one point in our conversation, she actually looked a little worried. Of corse she'd been surprised and relieved through out it all, I could tell that just by looking at her. But worried... That surprised me, because she doesn't seem like one to worry. So why me? I desperately wanted to know who I was. I wanted to know where I was, why I was here, and what specific role did I played in being here. I wanted to know more, too. I wanted to know my background, the people that surround me. I wanted to find more out about the young girl. She hardly spoke to me and seemed at lost for words most of he time.

But, here I was. Confusion overwhelming me. I didn't remember anything. All I knew was my name. But I started to learn and know more things, as my time healing and resting grew. People would come to me each day and tell me a little something that they thought would jog my memory. Nothing. And I felt bad, because every time someone left, they had an expression of failure.

Basically Grimalkin was the one who visited me the most. She had to, she was the one who made sure I was healing properly. I felt the same though. I felt like my gash hadn't been improving, and it hadn't been getting worse. To tell the truth, I felt like the memory loss was worse than the pain. If I got my memory back, the physical pain would probably be worse because I would have remembered the experience of the scene. But right now, my mental illness had disturbed me more.

Like I said, I couldn't tell if I had been improving. Grimalkin would come in, look at the gash, maybe give me some sort of medicine to help, but she never said anything. As I soon came to learn, something was wrong. It was wrong before, but I was not improving.

You see, I had begun to notice my cut a little more. The scales were not growing. It looked as if they were shrinking. I had no idea that was possible, but thought nothing of it. Frankly, I didn't know that growing scales on a human body was possible! But it wasn't just the outside of my body that started to change. Soon I was sweating most of the day for no reason. I would wake up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep. I had barley been able to walk before, but now I couldn't walk at all. I was heading for the worst. And I knew, someone had to do something fast.

Grimalkin started to notice. She gave me herbs and more medicine, but to no use would it help. She looked in a panic as I got increasingly worse each day.

Truthfully I was in terrible pain. So bad that I ended up forgetting about the memory loss and put my hopes and focuses on getting better.

But one day, Grimalkin made a decision that helped me. Little did we know at the time, she had taken the first step to saving me from a second death.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Alice Deane**

I woke up in the middle of the night a few days later. Of corse I couldn't go back to sleep, so I sat there living through the pain. Then I noticed something. My location had changed. The room had medicine, herbs, and other things doctors use with sick patients ad I was laying on a different bed. It wasn't a bed meant for sleeping. It looked like a operation bed. I wasn't up for long till I herd a door open, two pairs of footsteps, and then the door close.

"Where is he?" I heard this from a girls voice, followed by Grimalkin's response.

"Follow me. I wouldn't be to loud, if he's sleeping we wouldn't want to wake him. He's not gotten much sleep lately."

I saw Grimalkin walk into room I was in, followed by a girl who looked about my age. She was pretty, with long black hair tied up in a bun, and brown eyes. She wore a beautiful blue dress that went down about to her ankles.

Once she saw me her mouth widened, and she ran over to the bed.

"Tom! Oh Tom," she said investigating me, tears welling in her eyes "Why? Ain't deserve anything like this, you did! You, but you... What happened?" She muttered.

I looked at her sorrowfully. She looked like she cared about this more than anyone.

"I'm sorry, I don't remember what happened. I don't really remember anything. Grimalkin tells me I died, I know how, and I know my name now. It's Thomas, what's your name?" At that she had a look of horror on her face. Tears streamed down her face as she turned to Grimalkin, who was leaning against the wall.

"Grimalkin," she said sobbing, "what happened to him...?"

Grimalkin came forward to Alice. It seemed to me that she called the girl here, but didn't tell her why she needed to come.

"Alice, I want you to be calm. Tom here was fighting an assassin a few weeks ago. He ended up dead with a blade through the chest and was about to be buried till he came back to life. He's alive now," she looked at me sadly," but I fear we will lose him again soon." She sighed. "His mothers inheritance has saved him. Scales covered up the wound. It seemed to clean it a little too. But... Somehow the scales are shrinking or disappearing. What ever is happening, he's not improving. He's been unable to sleep. He's had bad fevers. As you found out, he can't remember who he is..."

Alice looked back at me.

"Please, Tom. You have to remember! It ain't worth living if you can't remember me, please... I can't live with out you..."

There was a silence. I sighed.

"I'm sorry, I really am. I can't remember anything before the accident. I don't remember you or anyone. I even don't remember who I am..."

She turned, and head in hands, ran out of the room. Soon I herd a door shut, I knew she had left, and I felt really bad for her.

"Grimalkin?"

"Look, I've brought Alice here to help you. She's one of the best healers I know. Hopefully she can get you on a permeate road to recovery."

"Wait, what about my memory?"

She paused before speaking and dropped her gaze.

"I don't know..." She turned to leave.

"Well, if I can't remember her, can you tell me who she is?" I asked.

Grimalkin stopped in her tracks, and with out turning to face me she answered slowly.

"Alice Deane. She's a witch... And your best friend."

I didn't know what to think of that so I just said nothing. She left me alone, and of corse I couldn't go back to sleep. I desperately wanted to leave that bed. I wanted to move around because I had been laying in bed for the past few days. I found that annoying and I needed to stretch out my legs. So with difficulty, I managed to sit up. I slid out of the bed slowly and eased my body weight on to my feet. The cut seemed to effect most parts of my body. Like when I walked, my skin would move and stretch. This caused a problem with my cut, it made me limp. At this thought, I realized I had been paying more close attention to things as the days went by. This was a good thing... Right? It had to be...

The place that I was staying had just the room, which was the room I had been in, and a small hallway, leading to the door to out side. I carefully made my way out the door. There was a small bank a few yards away from the front steps. I thought I saw something sitting on the side of it. I took a closer look, the girl was there. She was crying, her shoulders gently moving up and downward. She was hugging she legs, which were kept close to her chest. Her forehead was touching her knees.

I eventually made my way down the steps, then walked over toward her. She stopped crying when she heard my footsteps stop.

"Please, go away Grimalkin."

"Grimalkin left earlier, you didn't know?" I replied.

"Tom! Oh, it's you," she said frantically wiping the tears from her eyes.

"No, I didn't know she left. I thought you were her. Why are you up, Tom? You ain't in any state to be moving around all that much..." She said trailing off. She stopped crying, and the air was filled with a silence.

"Why are you out here, it late, really late." I said, sitting down beside her.

"I just need some time alone. It's a lot to take in..."

"Well looks like you won't have any alone time while I'm here." She smiled, it was a small smile, and I returned it.

"I guess not." At that, she just stared at the sky, the moonlight sparkling in here wet eyes.

"Hey," she looked at me slowly, "what's wrong?" I asked her gently.

She sighed.

"Tom, right now, If you were to remember me, you'd be mad. You'd despise the fact that I'm here. And I have a lot of explaining to do. Cause I did something I should have done way differently..."

"Well, Grimalkin told me we were friends. If we were good friends, I'd forgive you, wouldn't I?"

"Ain't that simple. I did something to protect you, but you didn't know that and it broke your heart, Tom."

"Maybe I'll understand that. If I was a true friend, I'd listen, and forgive you."

"Maybe you would, but that would only happen if you remembered. Nothing will ever be the same again if you don't remember."

I dropped my gaze, and she looked back up at the sky as another silence fell over us, till she spoke softly.

"Nothing will ever be the same, Tom. Your eyes had something special to them before. Something I can't explain. But now, it's gone..."

I sighed.

"Well, remember or not, I think I should know your name. What was it again?"

She turned her gaze back to me.

"I'm Alice. Alice Deane."

"Alice... " determined to remember that name. I slowly managed to stand up like always. Once up I held my hand out to her. She she saw it had I used all the strength I had left to pull her up.

"I'm going back inside now. I'll see you later Alice."

Alice nodded grimly.

"I should see you soon, and try to help you with your pain."

I nodded, then turned a made my way inside, to the bed, and under the covers.

"Alice..." I whispered, as I finally fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Girl Gathering **

I awoke suddenly the next day, annoyed by the sound of four female voices, which was a few, and I struggled to get back to sleep.

How could I when they were yelling so loud? Besides, I felt worse than ever now, maybe that's because I went to see Alice in the night. What ever it was, I wanted it to be over.

"Hey, please." I said trying to sit up the best I could, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. One girl came out from behind the wall, it was Grimalkin, and she came across to help me up. Two follower after her, both looking annoyed with each other. It was Alice, but of the other girl I couldn't identify. She had blonde hair, and wasn't that bad looking. But she did look as if she absolutely despised Alice.

"Well this is a surprise!" She said, in a sarcastic tone.

Alice grabbed her hair and yanked it so had, the girl screamed fit to wake the dead. I had a feeling she just did that to annoy me, and It was working.

"Stop it!" Grimalkin hissed through her teeth. "Jenny, come here."

The younger girl I had seen when I first "came back to life", at the time along with Grimalkin, walked into the room, close to tears.

"Hello, what's your name?" I asked gently. She wiped the tears from her eyes before speaking.

"I'm Jenny, master."

"Master?" Jenny then held her head in her hands, and started to sob quietly while Alice dropped her gaze and the blonde tutted. I looked at Grimalkin, confused. She only sighed before speaking to Jenny, with out answering my question.

"Jenny, let me tell you what were going to do to him. I want you to know because you will not be allowed in here to witness it."

"Okay," she said, containing herself, "I'm ready."

"Alice is going to give medicine to Tom to make his cut numb." She looked at Alice. "And before it wears off, she must deal with the cut by cleaning it, then stitching it back together." She looked back to Jenny. "Hopefully the medicine will make him unconscious and, hopefully, jog his memory." She looked at me now. "We hope for the best."

"What about my headaches? Sores and pains? Cuts? Bruises?"

Alice answered for Grimalkin.

"Some will have to heal in time, but I can fix the cuts and headaches."

I nodded.

"Alice will perform the surgery on you later, we must gather the materials."

"Why Alice?" It's not that I didn't trust her, I just wondered why any other witch couldn't do it. That's exactly what I told them.

"Alice is very skilled in the art." Grimalkin insisted. "She knows her stuff from the back of her hand." At this, the one girl next to Alice opened her mouth, probably ready to speak her mind, but Grimalkin gave her a hard stare. I could tell her and Alice didn't get along.

"We will see you later to check on you, then perform the procedure." At that, Grimalkin nodded and left, Jenny close on her heals.

Nobody spoke, until Alice opened her mouth to speak, when the other girl beat her to it. And cruel smirk plastered across her face.

"It'll be way worse than you think." She said flatly.

"Don't listen to her, Tom, full of rubbish she is." Alice said, mostly to the girl then to me.

"Oh really? How come I'm the best scryer their is?"

"Don't get above yourself. Your just bringing this up because Grimalkin addressed my healing skills!"

The girl folded her arms harshly, glaring hard at Alice, who was, in no doubt, doing the same.

"Am not! You've always been jealous of me, Alice Deane. You and I both know it. Jealous of everything! My scrying, my looks, my skills and leadership..." I could clearly agree with Alice that this girl was defiantly above herself, holding her head high and and sound of authority in her voice.

Alice didn't say anything, she just looked at her, disgusted. She wanted Alice to break, but what would she say?

"... Even jealous of me and Tom, you are." She said with a smirk.

I was very confused at this statement, I mean, I didn't even know the girls name! Before me or Alice could respond, the girl ran toward me, leaned down and kissed me softly on the lips, I had absolutely no time to react, and it was over before I knew it. If I could have reacted, I would have tried to push or kick her away, but my body was still very sore. She turned back toward Alice, her mouth wide open as tears flooded her eyes.

She only spoke so shortly.

"Why him?" She looked at me, embarrassed, and ran out of the room.

"Alice!" But she had already left.

I looked at the girl, angry.

"Who are you?"

She smiled malevolently.

"The names Mab, and just so you know, that Alice isn't to be trusted. When you get your memory back, it won't be me your yelling at."

And with that, she left.

**Please let me know what you think! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: The Outburst **

I couldn't do anything after that. Of corse I couldn't physically leave my bed, but I couldn't think. My mind was whirling all day, as I waited nervously for the surgery. I don't think that helped at all, my edginess twisting my insides. I just wanted everything to be better. But that couldn't happen unless Alice succeeded in my healing, not only that, nothing would ever be the same again unless I got my memory back. I didn't need to learn a lot to know that.

Sitting there gave me lots of time to think, and lots of time feeling worse I've ever had sense I came back. It was a feeling I found very hard to explain. The pain to see Alice so upset like that, gave me an even worse pain than my injuries were physically giving me. I desperately wanted to talk to her, but I didn't know what to say.

No body came back into the room until later that day, judging by the very little light shinning in through the window, it was evening, and It was Mab who had come. I wasn't going to tolerate her for long.

"What do you want?" I asked her bitterly. She seemed to take my tone in surprise.

"You do know that the procedure is more complicated than Grimalkin made it sound, right? I thought you would be more worried..."

"It's none of your business how I feel. Now leave." I told her flatly.

"Why rush me out so soon?" Mab asked, faking the innocent pang in her voice. "I just want to talk-"

"Well I don't! Go, now, I'm not in the mood for you right now." She was pushing it, and she knew that, but didn't leave.

"Your not acting like Tom, even without the memory..." She faked a sigh, and everything she was saying and doing were all sarcastic. I hated it, I'd had enough of her. She opened her her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it.

"No! Don't even speak of it! Your not making anything better at all! Why did you even come here? Your worthless to me right now, just taking up space! I've only seen you twice and have already had enough of you!"

I would have kept going, but with each sentence, a stabbing pain went through my head. And something flickered, a sense that I shouldn't be saying these things to Mab. I didn't know why, because in my mind, at that moment, she deserved it. I eventually got myself in a sitting position, yet she still hadn't left.

"Why are you still here?" I asked, now yelling at her.

"Leave me alone! Get away from me-" I let out a loud urge of pain. What was going on? I now started sweating across my brow. A door opened, and a pair of footsteps ran inside. It was Grimalkin and Alice. Grimalkin instantly started giving orders, loud ones at that.

"Alice, start, now! Here," she handed Alice a bag, and walked back to Mab.

Alice rummaged through the bag.

"Mab, leave us, now." Grimalkin said in a stern voice.

Before leaving, Mab looked at me again.

"Go!" I shouted. I let out a gasp of pain again. As Mab had left, Grimalkin walked toward me, observing me.

"What?" I urged rudely. I shook my head, I couldn't control what I was saying. What was going on?

Grimalkin seemed to understand though, and turned to Alice.

"We'll need the injector, Alice. You won't be able to do the procedure with him conscious."

"I was really hoping we could avoid this." Alice told her in response.

"I was too..." Then Grimalkin was handed a device with a needle.

"What? No, please!" I was begging, why?

Alice started to tear up.

"I'm sorry Tom, it's the only way. Please, let her."

I looked at Grimalkin anxiously. I then started to struggle as they held me down. But Alice turned away as Grimalkin inserted the sleep medicine.

I stopped struggling,and my vision started to blur. My last sight was of Alice, as Grimalkin's voice was slowly fading into darkness.

"Hurry, Alice, we don't have much time!"

And that was it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Jar**

I slowly opened my eye's, feeling something intertwined with my hand and fingers. I looked sideways, to see Alice. When she noticed I was awake, her eyes widened, and moved her hand quickly as she stood up.

"Tom! How do you feel?" She asked anxiously, looking over me.

"I do feel way better, actually." I told her as she calmed down. I smiled at her, and she forced a smile too, I could tell she was on edge by the way she bit her lip.

"I gave you extra medicine to help with other problems such as your pains you said you were having. While you were asleep, performed the surgery, I did. Grimalkin helped a little too. We managed to clean the cut pretty well, then I had to put more medicine and inject other things so that I could make sure all signs of infections were nowhere to be seen. Then I stitched you up..."

"Are you okay?" I asked her. She still had a worried expression, but I'd told her I felt fine. At that she looked at me as if I was crazy, considering the fact that me asking the question to her instead of the other way around wasn't normal.

But then she realized I was talking about her anxiousness.

"Nothing, you've just been asleep for a while now. Three days exactly-" She said, sitting back down.

"Alice, that's not that long." I told her earnestly. She dropped her gaze and quietly mumbled, "To me it is..."

"Anyway... I was hoping that making you unconscious would, jog your memory maybe?" She asked with hopeful bright eyes.

I felt extremely bad, and waited a while before I spoke. I thought hard about it too.

"... No, I'm sorry..." I whispered lightly.

She sighed.

"Do you want to try and walk, Tom?"

I nodded, and threw the blankets off me. Then I swung my legs around and sat up, so that I was now sitting on the side of my bed. Alice stood up and put a arm around my shoulders and under my arm for support. Standing didn't take long, and I was happy, to realize that my cut looked way better than before.

Once perfectly balanced on my feet, Alice slowly let go a took a few steps back, giving me space, but also close enough to rush forward and grab me if need be.

I nodded in her direction, and and started to walk across the room.

Amazement plastered across Alice's face as we both witnessed how much progress the surgery had given me! I still had a limp, but not anywhere near how terribly bad it was before. And nothing hurt, I could raise my arms and my skin stretching while doing so would cause no pain. I looked over at Alice and smiled, tears prickling in her beautiful eyes. This was a big moment for me, of what I had heard, I died a bad death. Now I was sanding here, walking with no pain and no winces.

Grimalkin came into the room, holding a jar that seemed to be filled with liquid.

"How's that cut of yours doing?" She asked, with a wicked smile on her face. By that, I could tell she probably already knew about my improvement.

"Way better than before, thank you." I told her, although addressing my words to both her and Alice.

Grimalkin nodded and turned to Alice. I hadn't said anything to her yet about my memory's absence still, but by what she said next I concluded that she already knew about it.

"I've finished making the potion that you said might help him remember, Alice." She walked over to Alice and gave her the jar. Alice looked at it, and her eyes widened yet again with hope.

"Yes, Grimalkin! This could work!" After examining it one last time, she walked over to me.

"Tom, this is one last thing we'd like you to try. We hope it will make your memory flood back, as that's what it's supposed to do. Other than this I don't know what else could work."

She handed me the jar and I looked at it thoroughly. It didn't look as worse as it could have been, so I accepted it, and drank it slowly, while the two girls waited patiently.

I put the jar down, and we waited, looking for any sign of it kicking in.

After about five minuets, we knew it had taken to long. Grimalkin's eyes were downcast, as tears were streaming down Alice's face. She shook her head in disbelief.

"No. What if we tri-" I tried talk, but before I could finish, Alice had rushed into my arms, still sobbing. I returned her embrace wishing there could be some other way to help myself... But I had to except what had happened. We stood there, the sound of nothing but Alice crying, tears falling helplessly down her face.

After a few moments, I let go, as Alice wiped her eyes, looking lost.

But then as my expression changed dramatically, so did hers.

I stepped back, my eyes traveling from her to Grimalkin, back and forth, then finally to the floor. Breathing heavily, an expression of horror on my face, I looked back up at Alice, to see her catch her breath as she understood.

Everything, every last part of anything... My death, my career, my life... I had remembered. Remembered everything.

**Please let me know what you think!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Without Thought**

It all came back to me, everything! I didn't have time to think, because before I could stop myself, words flooded from my mouth.

"Grimalkin! The Kobalos! Were running out of time. Wait, the Starblade, what happened to it, and Alice," I faced her, a wave of fury spread through out me like wild fire. Both girls were taken aback when they herd how loud my voice then became. In a way, it reminded me of my old master, sometimes making sure he was well herd by speaking in a loud booming voice.

"You! I told you to never come near me again! Leave now-"

"Tom, stop, calm down, we will explai-"

"No! Stop Grimalkin, I don't want to hear it! Alice, you leave now, while I give you a freebee."

Alice didn't move, almost seeming frozen to the spot. I rushed forward to her quickly, not even knowing what I was going to do when I reached her, when Grimalkin came forward swiftly, blocking my way and grabbing my arms which were not desperately trying break free.

"Well, leave! What are you waiting for?" I yelled, still being held back by Grimalkin.

She looked me in the eye, her big brown eyes filling with tears.

"What happened to you?" She simply asked me quietly, as my anger lessened, and for a moments hesitation, wondered the same. Before I could say anything more, she ran out, slamming the door behind her. I watched her leave, then Grimalkin released me. I was almost sweating and breathing heavily.

"You remember everything?" She asked me for confirmation.

"Yes, I do, Grimalkin."

"Then you'll understand that we still have more work to attend to. You died on us right when we needed you most."

She said this in a normal tone, but I guess I took it the wrong way before bursting out at her.

"Do you think I could control that? Of corse I wasn't the one who made my own self go out there and challenge the Shaiksa assassin! You made me do it!"

"I know." She hissed, just as loud as I was being.

"We will talk about this later. I will fill you in on anything you missed over the past days. But for now, I think you need to talk to Alice."

"Grimalkin, right now she is the least of our worries, we need to plan a-"

"No, we have time, little, but still, time all he same. What you need to do is talk to Alice. I don't know if you are forgetting the fact that not only did she save your life, again, but put an end to your memory loss." She said, holding up the jar which had contained the potion I drank to restore my memory.

After that she paused, then when she spoke it was almost in a whisper.

"Malevolent witch or not, she just saved your life," she said very slowly. "Maybe if you talked to her she would have some explaining to do..." She trailed off. After a while, Grimalkin walked toward the door, but paused before leaving.

"I know your angry and confused. You just died, why wouldn't you be? But you've a job to do. Right now more than one person is depending on you. In a few days we will plan out our uprising. Right now, you need to calm down and rest." And with that, she left me standing there, dazed at myself.

Why had I acted like that? Sure, Alice and I had parted ways, as she now was a malevolent witch, but I don't think I should talk to anyone in that manner so quickly and with out any thought before hand. Plus, the way she looked at me...I shook my head, switching to a different reason. My dad would have non of it either, and it would have made him disappointed. I needed to apologize to her, but that would be hard, so I wanted to get it over with quickly, still intending to get my point across that I was sorry, because looking back over how I acted, I was.

I walked out side, and searched for Alice. I almost gave up my search before I finally found her sitting on a bench as I stopped walking, realizing how quite a way's away from where I had just been. So I took a deep breath, and walked forward.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Alice's Reveal**

Alice was looking up at the sky, and as I grew closer, I could tell she had been crying. Right now though, she made no sound.

"Alice. I need to talk to you." I told her flatly as I came to a halt.

In response she just sighed and got up slowly and started to walk away.

"Alice, come on, I need to tell you something."

She ignored me and continued to walk away. I briskly ran forward to catch up to her a grabbed her shoulder to turn her around. It didn't hurt her, she just looked as if in pain because I was going to talk to her.

"Hear me out, I want to tell you-"

"And I'd listen if I knew you weren't going to yell at me for no reason!" She yelled. She looked me in the eye, then shook her head and walked past me, back to the bench. She sat down facing the other direction and she put her chin in her palms.

"What do you want to tell me?" She said quietly and impatiently.

"Alice," I said, starting to follow her back towards the bench.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, your right I had no reason to in the matter. I guess after remembering my death triggered emotions I couldn't control. Looking back on it, I had no right to say that to you. So I'm sorry, and thank you again for saving my life," I sat down on the bench, not to close to her, "I'm really grateful that you did that for me." I said in a more hushed tone. It was true, she was a bad person, but she saved my life. Without her I wouldn't be here right now.

She sat there and said nothing and put her head in her hands. After a while I got up, with a simple, "Goodnight," and started to walk away. But I only got in a few paces before Alice sprang up from the bench and yelled after me.

"Wait! Don't go, I want to tell you something now." She said through sobs.

I turned my head sideways.

"What do you mean?" Alice stood there for a moment or two, not saying a thing. Before she finally spoke, she sighed and took a few steps toward me.

"You remember actually being injured, right? You remember all that happened after you woke up?" She asked.

I knew what she meant by, "woke up." She was talking about after came back to life and stepped out of the coffin.

"Yes, I do..." I told her.

"Then you'll remember that night you told me that you would listen to me If I ever wanted to tell you something important." I nodded, still facing the opposite direction though. I remembered saying that if I was a true friend, then I would listen. Me and her weren't friends, but, I couldn't just walk away from her, I didn't want to be more rude than I was being earlier.

"Look." She said softly.

As I turned around around I saw quickly what she was showing me.

Alice's upper leg had had a moon shape on it. Every witch has one, and the more fuller it was, the more malevolent the witch was. A full moon meant the witch was a fully fledged malevolent witch. A while ago when I had talked with Alice, she explained this to me. And her mark had been full.

But now, the moon was a little less than a quarter away from full.

"I wanted to show you that before you doubted..."

"Doubted what? Say what you need to say Alice, quickly." I was running out of patience and didn't feel like being messed with.

"Tom, I am not malevolent."

At that I turned and started walking away, calling back over my shoulder.

"Alice, I'm really not in the mood."

She ran up and got in front of me, blocking me from going any further.

"You have to listen to me! Your not letting me explain myself! Tom, please!"

"I don't feel like being lied to at the moment, Alice."

"Am not Tom! Please, the mark wasn't full, you saw it yourself just a second ago!"

I tried to get past her, but she kept on getting in front of me. I could have easily nudged her out of the way, and I was just about to do so before I recalled what Grimalkin had told me before coming here to see Alice; "Maybe if you talked to her she would have some explaining to do..."

I stopped moving and so did Alice, her eyes wide with only what I could assume was hope.

"Explain yourself." I told her quietly. She'd already hurt me enough by betraying me, I just really hoped she wasn't going to lie too. What she said next was so fast I had to concentrate deeply to keep up.

"Never wanted to hurt you, I did. When I met Lukrasta I didn't fall in love with him. I didn't love him and never will. He threatened me Tom! And... I'm scared." She put her head in her hands for a few moments, then continued.

"He said that if I didn't go with him and give him some of my power he would get to you and do horrible things. I desperately wanted your help but I also didn't want you to be distracted from the Fiend... Me consulting you would just add more to the already huge worry's piled up on your shoulders. When you were finished he made me continue to stay with him because he wasn't finished with me. I had to act against you so you wouldn't suspect I was being drained of power. I know it was painful for you to see me that way, but nothing compared to how much pain it caused me to hide things from you. I stood there knowing I was hurting you, but..." Alice's eyes started to water and in no time tears were flowing down her cheeks. "I was to scared to tell you until now."

I didn't know what to think. One part was telling me to be cautious cause anything could be a trap or a lie. The other part of me was desperately wanting to hold her in my arms and never let her go. If what she said was true, than the Alice I once knew had never left, and had been in acting against her will this whole time.

But... I couldn't completely trust everything she said. I wanted to bad for everything that she was saying to be true, but I just needed more proof.

"Alice..." I said softly. She looked up at me and stared at me, eyes full of tears. Our eyes locked, for the first time in months had I never had so many mixed emotions and feelings.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Lukrasta**

We stood there like that, waiting for what I was going to say next. Honestly I didn't know what to do or say.

"I- I just don't- Alice." I sighed, confused.

Alice looked down and started to speak softly.

"It's really hard to believe me, ain't it? I don't blame you, but, I wish-"

"Tom, Alice, back to the house, now!" It was Grimalkin. She was a while away but close enough to see that she was signaling us back towards the house.

"We better hurry." Alice said running off towards Grimalkin. I followed her back to the house, running the whole way back, once we were inside, Alice started to pace back and forth across the floor her eyes wide with fear. Grimalkin came in and tried to calm Alice down.

"Please don't tell me." Alice told her flatly. Grimalkin nodded and looked at me.

"What's going on?" I asked her.

"Lukrasta, I saw him just outside-"

"How?" Alice screamed, she looked terrified. "How can he be here now? I thought, I thought..."

"Alice, it'll be okay. We need to go out there and find him." I told her.

"No Tom, won't let you! You don't understand how much power he has! He took mine for his advantages! And that's to kill you, it is. Please don't go out there!"

"No, stop Alice, this is just like last time. You doubted that I could take him down, you were wrong."

"I didn't doubt you Tom. I was worried and didn't want to see you hurt." She said in a quiet voice.

"Oh sur-"

"Stop! Now!" Grimalkin hissed.

We were then quiet, until Grimalkin spun around, knifes in her hand and thrusting them toward something that I couldn't see because of the wall, so fast that it was almost impossible to keep up with what she was doing. I herd a thud, then Grimalkin hastily backed up, blades up in a defense position.

Alice screamed backed up alongside me, Grimalkin on my opposite side.

Then the worst thing happened, especially sense I wasn't armed.

Lukrasta stepped out from the walls shadows.

"Alice, where were you? I don't recall me allowing you to leave..." He said in a heavily sarcastic tone.

Alice stepped in front of me, screaming at him.

"Don't hurt him! Please don't!"

"Step out of the way, Alice. Now." He told her dangerously.

Alice said nothing, instead she did something that made me clench my fist and almost burst out in anger. She walked right up to him and kissed him.

Once they stopped Alice smiled, then look transfixed. She opened her mouth and started to speak loudly.

"What did you do?"

Lukrasta smirked malevolently.

"Oh I was just showing Tom here what we've been up to during your absence."

"No... Tom," she looked at me and began to speak very fast.

"He made me! He's controlling me don't listen to him I didn't think-"

She didn't finish talking before Lukrasta put a knife to her throat.

"Let her go Lukrasta." I yelled.

"Not before I get what I need, besides, what are you going to do about it? If I recall correctly, you just died..."

No one said anything.

"What do you want?" I told him darkly.

"Don't you see Tom," Grimalkin hissed. "He's going to drain Alice's power..."

She chucked a throwing knife at him with great force, which would have impaled his chest, if it hadn't halted in midair and fell to the ground.

After that my vision blurred, and I herd Grimalkin but the ground before I followed. My last thought was of Alice.


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm really sorry guys, I was re-reading my past two chapters, and they seem a little tardy. I really hope you like this chapter cause I tried to one it up from the last two I didn't do so well on! Let me know what you think.**

_Chapter 11: Trapped_

As I began to awake, I saw Grimalkin's across from me, her hands bound by a chain that was tied to a wall. She was awake and starring at the floor, her face blank and empty of emotion. My hands were bound as well, so tightly it didn't seem possible to escape to easily. I looked about me, we were in a small simple room with no windows and only one door. After I noticed all my surroundings, I remembered why I was there.

Lukrasta! Alice! Me and Grimalkin need to help her, who knows what Lukrasta is planning to do with her?

"Grimalkin, we have to help Alice! Where's Lukrasta now? I said, trying to yank on the chains. At that Grimalkin continued to stare at the floor and was utterly silent.

"Grab one of your blades, maybe we can loosen the chains or something." I said, still frantically trying to get free somehow. But she just sat there and did nothing. What was wrong with her, was she okay?

"Grimalkin!" I whisper shouted. I was desperate to get away and save Alice, who knows how much time we had to help her. Finally she responded, but only through a deep sigh. I stared at her, waiting for her to say something, and when she did, I regretted ever trying to get her to talk.

"I don't have my weapons," she started, in a quiet whisper. "Lukrasta took them while we were out. When I came to, Alice was shaking me, desperate to wake me up. She told me that Lukrasta was going to drain her completely of power, and that she wouldn't survive." Grimalkin's voice got even quieter. "That's why she was so scared when she realized he was here."

I didn't say anything, everything was terrible. Why did it have to be this way? Alice and me were in a confusion of thoughts towards each other, but... I didn't want to loose her. I just could help feeling that way...

After a moment or so, I spoke to Grimalkin, confidence strong in my voice even though my head was telling me that this was going to be easier said then done.

"Well we have to get free and try to save her before Lukrasta is completely through with her-"

"We can't save Alice anymore. She woke me up hours ago. She's probably dead by now. There's nothing we can do," Grimalkin exclaimed, her voice rising steadily. "Lukrasta even came here for the Starblade, and guess what? He probably has that too..."

There was a few moments of silence, me being shocked at the idea of Alice being dead...

"Alice can't be dead, she can't be! We have to try and save her, she could be still alive-"

"Think, would you?" Grimalkin hissed. "What are the odds that she is still alive?" My heart dropped. Alice was probably dead, I guess my heart was just trying to make me believe the impossible.

"Well what do you expect us to do? Sit here waiting for Lukrasta to come back?"

"Neither of us have weapons, so as of now I don't see what else were supposed to do." She replied, pulling hastily on the chain to show it's strength. I lowered my gaze from Grimalkin. I thought hard, though the solution didn't come to me, and the future seemed glum.

"Your teeth! Use your teeth to bite through the chain! I exclaimed, but to my dismay turned her body and lifted her tied hands behind her back to tell me that the chain want long enough to reach her mouth. I was desperate to get free. If Alice really was dead, Lukrasta would be sorry. I would make him regret killing Alice... Regret severely...

My thoughts caused a wave of fury to wash through me, and I yanked and pulled on the chain, making it clatter, making it press up and bang against the wall. In doing so I herd a click. The screws that held the chain to the wall, they were loosening! I kept at that for a while, loosening the screws more and more, but actually making them unscrew completely seemed impossible. When I stopped and looked at Grimalkin, a smirk full of mischief plastered across her face.

"And I before we went out I think I vaguely remember Lukrasta enjoying Alice's sweet welcome back kiss..." She said with a hint of sarcasm.

Alice was forced to do that against her will, I knew that and so did Grimalkin, but just the thought of them kissing sent a wave of jealousy and anger through me.

I stood up angrily and yelled Grimalkin's name. It was then that I noticed, I was standing. I turned and looked back at the wall, the chain was torn from the screws. I looked back at Grimalkin.

"Or maybe Lukrasta was forcing her..." She said darkly, smiling and showing the pointed teeth within.

"Yeah, sure," I said, shrugging off my outrage. Grimalkin had planned to make me pull out the chain in anger, but how was she supposed to break free?

"Alright, so... What if you loosened the chain then tried to gnaw through it with your teeth? Unless you want to just break through the whole thing like me..."

She started tugging on the chain, and after a moment or two I tried to help her, and together we managed to pull the chain out enough so that she could just barley reach her mouth to it. After quite a few moments I became anxious. To my relief though, she finally managed to bite through them. She stood up by my side.

"Well, Spook, what do you recommend we do next?" She asked me. I knew the answer in no time at all.

We were going to get back Lukrasta. I wanted to get him back for putting Alice in such a bad position. Get him back for taking Alice away from me.

Get him back for making me angry.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Find Him**

"We need to find Lukrasta, quickly. This time I will not be so lenient when his life is in my hands." At that Grimalkin looked at me with a surprised, questioning sort of way.

"You could have killed me but didn't take the chance?" She said, looking surprised and yet a little impressed. I didn't know why, did she think I couldn't do it? I was just surprised she didn't know somehow. Most witches could know things without being told.

"He was down at the end of my blade... Alice begged me not to kill him... Anyway" shrugging off the memory, "We need to get your blades and my staff back." I said, stepping out of the door. Grimalkin followed, but as soon as I turned back around from closing the door, Jenny was sprinting toward me, her hands full.

"Jenny! You've brought our things! I'm glad your okay, where have you been?" I asked, full of relief.

"Is your memory back, master Ward?"

"Yes, Jenny, it is." I said in a hurry, me and Grimalkin grabbing our weapons. Grimalkin took all of her blades while I got my silver chain and staff. But the one thing Jenny didn't have, was the Starblade.

"I've been hoping against hope that it was! I'm so glad your okay!" She exclaimed happily. I nodded and smiled at her in reassurance.

"Child, where did you find our weapons?"

"I saw a man throwing them into a stream about a mile back. He was carrying a girl, she was screaming fit to burst!"

"Alice... Jenny, where-what direction?" I asked in a panic to get to Lukrasta. In response to this Jenny acted surprised that I hadn't known.

"Back not far from the house," she said, pointed back toward where the house. "I've been looking for you all morning. What's been happening?"

"Only a mile? We can get there soon enough! Jenny, I'll have to explain later. As of now me and Grimalkin need to take care of something. As soon as we get back hide somewhere and wait till I come back, okay? Thank you for getting our things, we'd no idea where they were."

"Remember last time you told me to stay hidden till you came back?" She said with disappointment that she couldn't come with us.

"Jenny, I'm sorry, this is really important and I'll have to further explain later." She nodded.

"We've wasted enough time already! Come on, let's go..." I said, starting off at a sprint. Grimalkin followed, with Jenny bringing up the rear.

We got there averagely fast which was good. Jenny went and hid, where, I don't know, but she assured me she would be far away from danger.

"Where do you think Lukrasta is?" I asked Grimalkin.

"He can't be far from here, let's have a look around." She responded, already running toward the house to investigate. My hand tightened around my staff as I ran down to the lake. He had to be somewhere...

I kept looking hastily walking and running the lakes borders. I saw someone lying down, close to the water, yet I was on the complete opposite side of the water. I walked closer, and my heart sank.

It was Alice.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: The Starblade**

"Alice!" I yelled, already running to get to her, as she was on the opposite side of the lake. I didn't stop running till I reached her, quickly laying my staff down on the grassy bank as I went down on my knees. I leaned over her, observing, as it looked like, a fairly recent wound on her upper arm. I lifted her head lightly so that her face was facing mine. Her eyes were closed, and it was almost impossible to tell if she was breathing...

"Alice, wake up... Come on Alice, it's me Tom! Your safe now, come on, wake up. Please Alice..." My fears were already high and my hopes were low, so this only concluded the very worst... My eyes began to water and tears began to flow endlessly down my face. I couldn't help it... I didn't want Alice dead at all, life without her would be tremendously different... I didn't like nor want life without Alice. I sat there, Alice's lifeless body resting in my arms, depression washing over me. I gently laid Alice's head back on the ground as I stood up. I picked up my staff, almost feeling like falling over with deep emotions. It was then that I herd footsteps. I turned, expecting to see Grimalkin. But to my disappointment, it was Lukrasta with a nasty smile and evil spark in his eyes.

I beat him to speak, no trace of a tremble in my voice, just anger.

"You shouldn't have done that. I've already warned you not to mess with me. You've made me angry, Lukrasta, and this time I won't let you off so easily." Though I said this with much authority, what chance did I have against him? All I had was my staff, and last time he'd try to use his magic against me the Starblade had protected me. I didn't have the Starblade right now, and he was way more powerful due to Alice's additional power within his use. Not to mention this would be the first real fight after my injuries. I wasn't confident on that note either, because although Alice had helped me so much with a major improvement, I still walked with a slight limp. If anything interfered with the wound's stitches, it could come undone, couldn't it? It all depended on how tight they were. If the cut was reopened, I wouldn't be up to any fight.

"Your really hard to get rid of, aren't you?" He asked me. Of corse he didn't intend for an answer, but he was walking a thin line considering my patience.

"More difficult than you are, that's for sure. You need a good begging for your life to be spared." I told him, my hand tightening its grasp on my staff. I knew I'd made him angry. He probably would have laughed at my first sentence, thinking it humorous that I could beat him. Well, I didn't see what was so funny about that because I've done it before, and I could do it again. But, very suddenly, he muttered something under his breath causing almost a invisible forcefield to push me back a few feet and slam backwards on the ground, after that he pulled out a sword, the same sword from our last battle. He came at me fast, once close, he thrust his sword down fast to be encountered with my staff, redirecting his aim, I sprung up from the ground than quickly ducked and missed his swing toward my head. I jabbed at his chest, only for him to take a large step back and come back swiftly with another jab, which went right in front of my chest as I had pivoted sideways. The next hit I wasn't so lucky to miss. He pierced me quite deeply in the left leg. I'd had it, the pain was terrible, but it was more anger that washed through me than pain. I wasn't going to let anymore blades inject me. I was determined to focus and come back hard, even though my leg felt unless as ever.

I looked back up at him as he pulled out the tip of his sword, me gasping in pain while he did so. I shot him a thrust toward his chest, upper arm and neck, all to which he blocked. Gradually I began to draw in close on him, forcing him to back up. My leg was feeling worse but, recently being pierced in the abdomen, made it a little better in comparison. I noticed Grimalkin running silently toward us, without Lukrasta's notice. At the last moment Grimalkin griped a blade, still running, and made aim quickly and accurately.

"Duck!" She yelled, throwing the knife with great force and, as I had ducked, impaled Lukrasta in the right shoulder. As I went to stand I used my foot to trip him while he was distracted. He fell to the ground, muttering again, as the ground seemed to move and me and Grimalkin fell as well. We got right back up, along with him, now yanking the blade out of his shoulder. It had pierced him deeply. Grimalkin went forward, drawing in for another attack. I quickly planned how to work my way back in to help her when I herd someone.

"Take this!" It was Jenny! I turned to see what she was holding out to me. The Starblade! I wondered how she got it and where but quickly thought better to ask because of time.

"Thank you Jenny, now please, go on!" At that, after looking worriedly at my leg, she turned and ran rather quickly out of site. I turned, bent down and dropped my staff, then went back over to where Grimalkin was facing Lukrasta. She made the slightest of glances in my direction toward the sword. She ducked to a last attempt as I ran up to him, as fast as I could from behind and thrust the blade into his back, which although disturbingly, came out through his chest. I pulled it out with a great force as I watched him fall to his knees and fall utterly silent.

We stood there breathing hard, I limped over to my staff, and picked it up so I could lean on it. I looked at Grimalkin, who came forward. She paused and then looked past me, brushing past me to get by. I turned around and saw she was heading to Alice, still laying helplessly on the ground just like before. I followed her slowly. She was already bent next to her, examining her closely.

"This is a bad wound, I wouldn't be surprised if this alone killed her. But It is also all the power drainage from Lukrasta that's made her weak." She talked, and I herd her clearly, but the only thought was what Grimalkin had just confirmed, Alice was dead.

"She can't be dead Grimalkin! Check again, maybe we over looked something..." I knew that was highly unlikable, but, I guess I wasn't ready to hear that Alice had died...

Grimalkin looked at me, as if thinking the same thing. She knew it would make me feel better, so she nodded doubtfully.

Grimalkin looked at her mark, then she examined her hair and skin. Lastly, Grimalkin sniffed Alice's body, and then froze. She opened her eyes and looked straight at me.

"We need to get her back inside, quickly." She picked Alice up almost effortlessly and started to run back toward the house.

"Wait, what's happened? Grimalkin!" I shouted after her. She kept on running though, but I knew that something was different. Had something changed? Was Alice really dead? When I had saw her earlier it has certainly seemed so, she wasn't breathing for all I knew...

There was only one way to find out, but I was filled with knew hope, and as fast as I could with my staff for balance, limped my way back toward the house to find out what was going on.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: A Word of Advise**

I couldn't run but I walked as fast as I could, desperately wanting to find out what was wrong with Alice. I was almost there but before I could get inside Jenny came running up to me, full of questions I just didn't have time to answer.

"Is he dead? Did the Starblade help?" She asked, looking down at my injury.

"Yes, Jenny, Lukrasta is dead. The Starblade did help. Thank you for bringing it to me... Wait, where did you find it?" I asked, wondering how she could have gotten it. "You didn't have the Starblade when you first me and Grimalkin our weapons."

"I didn't know where it was at the time. It wasn't with your other tools. It wasn't until the, Umm... Oh right, the Alice girl told where it was and that I needed to get it to you immediately." Jenny had said "Alice girl" with a tone of disapproval. They never exactly had time to get along, but I thought they could manage it if Jenny learned to accept the fact that Alice was a witch.

"Are you okay?" She said, looking back at my leg again.

"Yes, I'm fine. I'll get it healed soon. It's just bringing my limp back." Jenny nodded. We fell silent. I needed to get inside and was about to say as much to Jenny before she spoke suddenly.

"I'm really glad your okay. It was terrible when you died... I didn't know what to think. It must have been pretty bad on your part." She told me, tears building up in her eyes. She turned away embarrassed. She must have known how I felt because she had a special ability as a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter. She could feel what other felt. She was right, the pain was unbearable, but voice inside my head telling me that I was dying was worse, and incredibly hard to explain. Jenny had known how I felt.

"Jenny," I said to her as she turned back around to face me. Still holding my staff, I put my right hand on her shoulder.

"It takes more than just a assassin to get rid of me." I said smiling at her reassuringly. She nodded and grinned back.

"Well, is there anything that I can help you with?" At that I pulled the Starblade from its recess and handed it to her.

"This sword is very important, Jenny. I need you to put it somewhere safe until I can permanently put it back where it belongs."

"Where was that?" She asked me looking at the blade. I looked up at the horizon. Once she looked back up at me I said something to her that I'd never had thought I'd say to an apprentice of mine.

"All in good time, Jenny. All in good time."

I turned back to look at her again. "I need to do something important now. I'll see you soon once my wound is fixed." At that she nodded, and turned, off to find a good place for the Starblade to be hidden. I could have easily told her it previously had been under my masters coffin, but I didn't want to mention my dead master just yet. All I needed was time.

I walked up to the door, leaning my staff against the wall before opening the door and stepping inside. The narrow hallway wasn't that long so I would see Alice and Grimalkin soon. For the last few steps I took my heart raced, I'd very soon find out if Alice was actually dead. But my worrying was not needed.

Alice was sitting on the bed, Grimalkin about to inject something in her arm. But before she could do so, Alice looked up and saw me, her beautiful brown eyes almost as big as her smile. I walked over to her, she stood up, lost her balance, and fell right into my arms. Grimalkin looked a little irritated.

"Tom, is it true? You killed Lukrasta? You don't know how, how sorry I am. Ain't explainable. I've told you whats what and don't blame you for not believing me, I just- I-"

I laughed through my words.

"I believe you Alice." She brought her head back around to look at me, tears starting to flow down her cheeks.

"You do?" She asked exasperated. I nodded, she grinned widely and hugged me again, almost knocking me over.

"I didn't think you would ever- I'm so glad. You believe me! Tom I'm sorry, I would never had... I should've-"

"Shhhh." I said to silence her. It worked for a moment, then she spoke again.

"I- I... I never want to loose you again..." She said, through her sobs. Not knowing what to say, I said nothing. Grimalkin came forward and injected something in her arm. Almost immediately she became limp and she wasn't hugging me, her body was just leaning against mine.

"Put her on the bed." Grimalkin said quietly, then I can give you something for your leg." She said, walking over to the counter to grab another tool.

I picked Alice up under her shoulders and knees and took her over to the bed. I put her down gently, so glad that she was still alive.

"What happened, what did you do to her?" I asked Grimalkin, watching Alice.

"Wasn't that hard to set to." She called back over her shoulder. "All I did was give her two doses of medicine to officially bring her back from unconsciousness. But in truth, she saved herself. As to what actually happened, she can explain that to you when she wakes back up. Now let me see your wound."

I sat down on the floor next to the bed and pulled up my left pant leg. The cut looked bad, and yes it hurt, but it didn't bother me much, and I told Grimalkin as much.

"Maybe it doesn't get to me as much because I've experienced worse." I said logically. Grimalkin smiled malevolently, then took out the needle in which she would use on me to rid of infection and clean out the cut. Luckily that would make me pass out.

"Maybe... You just better not let that happen again. I really thought you were dead, I didn't even foresee the fights outcome."

"If you had you wouldn't have pushed me to battle the assassin in the first place." I said to her. She didn't respond but changed the topic. "You heal fast though. Your limp improved so much that it was hard to tell you had ever had one. Most people would have taken weeks to heal before even walking around. It proves that something's different about you... Your master believed you to be the most powerful Spook born into the trade for century's. I would have to agree with him on that one..."

Talk of my master always brung down my spirits. I'd missed him... I started to wonder what he would have thought if he had still been alive to witness my death...

"You were right, Grimalkin, I should never had buried the Starblade under John Gregory's coffin." The next words were hard to utter, I dropped my gaze from hers and lowers my voice. "It was one of the most stupidest mistakes I've ever made, and why am I surprised? Unfortunate events right after my masters pass; My apprenticeship cut short, apprentice of my own, no one to guid me through it all, and a new dark God to top it all off..."

Grimalkin smiled, showing her pointed teeth.

"I wouldn't call it 'Unfortunate events', more like experience-" I tutted, but she knocked at least some sense into me with what she said next.

"Your never going to learn anything without practice, and sometime the force against reluctance gives you that first push to start it all off. Your going to be one of the best spook's the county has ever seen, so I wouldn't be doubting yourself just yet."

I understood what she was saying. I just needed to get used to the situation I was in, because once that accomplished, I could make anything of it. I nodded and closed my eyes. Grimalkin then injected the medicine straight into my wound, sending my into unconsciousness.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Troubles**

I awoke exactly where I had been before passing out. It was light out so I figured I'd been unconscious for the whole night. I looked down at my leg and, just like last time, it was all stitched up and clean. Even so, I could still tell that my encounter with the Shaiksa assassin had had a worse effect than my battle wit Lukrasta just by comparing the two cuts.

I got up and as I walked outside I noticed I had a worse limp then before, and I hoped it would go away soon. I couldn't afford a limp to slow me down in a time of fast traveling. Once outside I saw Grimalkin practicing combat skills with Jenny using Grimalkin long blades. As I walked down the slope towards the lake, I was quite impressed. Grimalkin thrust maybe 6 strikes at Jenny and she had blocked about half of them. Had they been practicing while I'd been unable to train her?

"Well done!" I called down to her cheerfully. Grimalkin stopped and nodded at Jenny. She looked up at me and smiled. I carefully limped my way to her and Grimalkin, they were breathing heavily from the practicing.

"Have you been helping her?" I asked Grimalkin. She nodded then looked at Jenny.

"Good in combat, this one. Fast learner with the blades as well. I have been helping her, and she's really getting on." Grimalkin then looked back at me. "I suppose you want her for a while?"

"No, she can stay here for a little while longer. We need to start out first year topic of witches very soon Jenny." I said, turning to her. "But first I need to talk to Alice. Who knows, maybe Alice can even teach you a thing or two on witches as well." Jenny didn't look like that was an agreement, but I did think she could get along with alice at some point, so before setting off to find her I spoke to Jenny.

"On a second thought, you can come with me and meet Alice, then you can get back with Grimalkin later."

"But, we're doing really well! I think I'm really close to redirecting a-"

"That can wait till later." I told her firmly. She looked almost about to protest, but then thought better of it. We parted our ways from Grimalkin to get off and find Alice. I saw her sitting on the edge of the lake, then spoke to Jenny without looking at her or stopping. I could tell Jenny was nervous.

"I won't force you to stay for long, just to long enough for you two to feel more comfortable around each other. After that you can get back to Grimalkin and wait till my return." She said nothing. I walked to Alice, when she heard me she stood up. "To-" she started, but when she saw Jenny she stopped speaking.

"Alice, I want you to meet my apprentice, Jenny. Jenny, this is a friend of mine. Her name's Alice." Jenny forced out a quiet hello.

"Hi, Jenny." Alice said, looking down at her shoes.

A very awkward silence crossed between the two of them before I spoke up.

"So you guys have seen each other before..."

"Umm, yes, we have," Alice started, "and I want to apologize about the way I acted towards you Jenny. I had no reason to creep you out. It actually really wasn't you, it was just... I was-my feelings were just being taken out on you. Really sorry, I am."

Jenny looked her in the eye then. Then she said something I didn't expect her to say.

"Are you okay?" Jenny looked worried and a little sad then, but she kept her eyes on Alice. Alice just looked down at the ground and bit her lip. I stepped forward and Alice looked back up at Jenny.

"You're not okay, are you?" Jenny said, taking a step closer to Alice. I figured Jenny's special ability of knowing how others feel was creeping up on her right now.

"Jenny, a word please." I turned and led her a little ways away.

"Go ahead up to the house, I'll be back up later." I told her, and with one last look back at Alice she headed back up the hill. I turned and walked back toward Alice. She was facing out to the lake.

"Alice." I said gently as I approached her. She turned around to face me, and tears began to flow down her cheeks.

"What's wrong?" I questioned her as she approached me.

Alice ran forward the last few paces and put her arms around my waist, hugging me tight. I returned her embrace. She cried softly into my chest for a while before she let go and sat down. I sat down next to her.

"Please tell me what's wrong." I urged her.

"How can you be so strong, Tom? I felt guilty when I saw Jenny. All this time when I saw her... I always felt like... I felt like she replaced me. I felt like your feelings toward me were slipping away to her... The feeling was terrible. And I don-" she stopped and put her head in her hands. She began to cry again.

"Alice." I said. She looked up at me and rubbed her eyes. I grabbed her hand and held it tightly. "No one could ever replace you, you know that right? Jenny's just my apprentice." I confirmed. She nodded, and I spoke again.

"To be truthful about it, I never really stopped thinking about you Alice. From what I knew you were malevolent, you were with Lukrasta, but I never stopped missing you."

"Nice to hear, that is. I tried thinking about you when Lukrasta hurt me, I really did, but, I just..." She sighed. Alice then let go of my hand then pulled off her pointy shoes a pulled her dress up a little past her knees. Bony Lizzie had taken blood from Alice, leaving scars all around her body, but now, there were huge bad scars each about 5 centimeters long. They were even intercepting older scars. I could tell they had been deep cuts too.

"Alice, I know you were trying to keep me away from harm but I could have done something to help. I'd never want this to happen to you..." I said astonished and a little angry at Lukrasta for doing this.

"I did it for you Tom, if I had gotten your attention I would have been guilty beyond belief!" That's how I had felt right now though. By the looks of the scars the pain must have been terrible.

"Alice you could have lost to much power, or blood even. You could have died before you even got here."

"And what did I find when I got here though, Tom? You were dead... I talked to Grimalkin, she said she couldn't even save you. Hearing that was worse than anything Lukrasta could ever do to me..." Alice then let go of her dress. I scooted closer to her as she rested her head on my shoulder. I took a hold of her hand again. We fell into a long silence. I felt like there was way more than that to discuss, but I just wanted to enjoy the moment in silence. It felt comforting to have Alice back in my arms again, I'd missed her a lot over the past few months. After a while she picked up her head and looked at me, staring deep into my eyes. Then she spoke softly.

"Being away from you was bad enough, but finding out about Old Gregory's death told me you were having a hard time of things."

I was missing him sorrowfully too. And I felt like a huge disappointment. Why did I have to die so quickly after my master left? It made me feel like everything he'd done for me was so closely thrown away, and that it was a disgrace for me to be called a Spook. My eyes started to water, and I turned my head in embarrassment.

"I miss him Alice. I feel like a waste. If I had died John Gregory would have spent the rest of his days training a failure. I don't even think he wou-"

"Ain't a failure, Tom-" I sprung to my feet, my voice rising.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if if I was failing! Alice, Mr. Gregory-" I shook my head in frustration, starting to pace back and fourth. "See I'm calling my dead master by a name a apprentice would! I'm the spook now! He wouldn't be happy about this I know it-he'd be ashamed that I came that close to loosing all that knowledge. Think about it if I died there goes-"

"Tom-"

"almost five years of training down the drain! I'm supposed to spread my knowledge but how am I supposed to do that if I'm barley done my own apprenticeshi-"

"Tom!" Alice gabbed my arms, forcing me to come to a halt. I stopped talking, just now realizing how much I've gotten off my chest.

"The point is I-" I said beginning to start back up again.

"I understand what your point is!" She said while smiling. Her smile faded by the look of depression on my face. "No one said being a Spook would be easy," Alice said softly. "Knew that from the very beginning, you did." Alice did have a point, but I still felt like my duty was slipping away very slowly, as if I wasn't up to the job.

"If old Gregory were still alive he'd be proud of you." Alice said, letting her hands fall down to my own. "Judging yourself to harshly, you are. Please Tom, understand that you are doing an amazing job! I think your just used to more activity. Have you had any spook's business to attend to lately?"

"Not much before I got here..."

"See! Your so used to running all over the place. And I think your scared, Tom."

"Of what?" I snapped at her. Immediately I became angry at my own rudeness. Alice sighed and turned around.

"Your scared. You think something will go wrong and your worried that if that does happen, you'll not have anyone to help you..." Alice said, her voice trembling.

"No one was hear to save me last time." I said quietly. Alice looked at me tears in her eyes. Then I realized that I was probably making her feel bad.

"What am I even saying? Why do I need help all of a sudden-"

"Tom-" Alice said trying to stop me.

"-it it just because I'm a spook or because I-" I stopped suddenly.

I stopped because Alice had done the only thing that would make me stop ranting completely.

She came forward and kissed me on the lips.


	16. Chapter 16

**I'm really sorry to everyone who waited for this update. I was really lousy with updating my story, especially with that kiss! I hope you like this chapter, and thank you all for the supportive comments!**

**Chapter 16- Sharp Pain**

I was taken aback. I loved Alice, but I wasn't completely sure she felt the same way. Well, how could I after what I'd thought I'd known? Sense none of that malevolent nonsense was true and she never loved Lukrasta... Alice did love me. She had to. The proof was in this moment. I kissed her back, laying both my hands on her waist while she wrapped her arms around my neck. The wind was gently breezing us as we held each other. After about three seconds I pulled my lips away from hers, and hugged her tightly. We swayed back and forth and after a few moments I removed my hands from her waist and held her hands. She looked me in the eyes, as her own filled with tears. "I didn't think-I... I didn't think you felt the same way. I knew you hated me after..." Alice tried to say, her voice trailing off. I smiled at her reassuringly. "I never hated you, Alice. I never stopped loving you. I was hurt and depressed, because I cared so much. I couldn't stop thinking of you." Alice's eyes widened. "Love me, Tom? You do?" She asked, more tears falling down her cheeks. I nodded. I loved Alice, and I've known that for a while. "I love you too." Alice said, hugging me again. I was suppressed but received to know how she felt toward me. It gave me a new comfort. We broke apart. She wiped away the last of her tears and I looked her in the eye. "If something's wrong, you must tell me from now on, Alice. I couldn't bear this happening to you again." I told her, our faces inches apart. "Of corse, Tom. I was ignorant enough to believe I could deal with it alone." "Good." I said simply, feeling much better and reassured overall. I gave her one last smile as we made our way back up to the house.

Jenny was fighting with Grimalkin like before, and again, I was impressed. Her reactions were great for starting practice so not long ago. Though I did fear for her, I wondered how long she could keep up with Grimalkin. "Well done, Jenny! Though I think that will do for now. Do you mind?" I asked, turning to Grimalkin. She gave a nod and collected her blades back from Jenny. Jenny jogged up to me and Alice, as we were already walking back to the tent. "Jenny, I want you to properly meet my friend Alice. You could learn a thing or two from her, as I did once. You see, Alice was trained in witchcraft for two years, learning from her mother, Bony Lizzie." Alice looked at me as if I wasn't okay. Jenny's eyes opened wide. It looked like the both of them wanted a good conversation with me once I was finished. I smiled. "You two don't learn to get along with each other. I'll set up the tent, go ahead, Jenny, introduce yourself." Jenny looked at Alice like she was dirt. I didn't like it. "Jenny..." I warned. She started off explaining how she was a seventh daughter. I focused on setting up the tent, slowly, as I still ached. Once I had finished, I turned around to see Jenny smiling and Alice laughing as she talked. What was she telling Jenny. Jenny turned to me and started roaring. I was about to ask what was being said, but my head gave a sudden sharp pain. I turned, but I was to slow. "Something wrong, Tom?" Alice said, taking a step toward me. "Nothing. You two should get some sleep. I'm going to find Grimalkin." I said. Jenny looked reluctant, but went on anyway. "Tom? Alice said. "It's fine, really. I just need to clarify something with Grimalkin. I'll be back soon." I told her, temporarily grasping her hand to reassure her. I set off to find Grimalkin.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: Your Well Alive **

I soon found Grimalkin in the same spot before, her back toward me, sharpening her blades. She turned as she heard me approach.

"I've just remembered something we should have discussed awhile ago." I told her simply. She stopped and looked up at me. She stared at me for a moment, then put her blade back into its scabbard. I came forward began what I thought she should hear.

"I don't know why I didn't remember sooner, but my battle with the Shaiksa assassin. One of his followers supposed to hunt down the killer. Why haven't they come for revenge?" I asked, though I only expected one response. Grimalkin answered quickly. "I suppose they don't yet realize that your well alive. Once word gets around no doubt they'll be looking for you. Keep that sword close, you might need it." She said, referring to the Starblade. I nodded, stood up, and began to make my departing, but she spoke again. "How has your cut been?" She asked. I was surprised at the question, coming from Grimalkin. "Better..." I said. My abdomen ached a little, my leg wasn't any better, but they were certainly improving. Then I decided, while I had time, to ask her of something.

"Can you tell me what happened? What was it like... After I died." I asked turning back to face her. Grimalkin began her tale.

"I thought you were going to win. I truly did. You remember, the lasting fight. Me and the girl didn't see what had happened till after the assassin died and you turned toward our direction. Once you fell I realized then what had happened. Everyone was silent as I ran, picked you up and took you to the tent. The girl followed with the Starblade. After that I simply tried to save you but it was to late. You'd been dead, and I couldn't do anything to change the outcomes. You began to for, scales over the wound, I still wonder if that has a relation to your reliving. The girl wept long after, it took us by surprise, no doubt. You were in the coffin before anything, any sign occurred."

Grimalkin sighed.

"The night before the event," I said, admitting to something I hadn't already said yet. "I had a strong feeling of unease. I couldn't see after the, at the time, upcoming battle. I strongly pondered over the outcomes, and the chance of my death." I told her. "You have not felt that before the fight?" She asked. "No, I've felt nothing of the sort. It was a entirely new feeling." I confirmed. She nodded, thinking over the scenario. "One thing I've seriously considered over time. During the fight, before Kauspetnd pierced you, your gift to slow time, had you not thought of it then?" She asked. I shook my head. I couldn't remember. "I can't remember trying, but I certainly don't see why the thought wouldn't have come to mind..." I said mysteriously. I stood up to go, leaving her in her thoughts.

Once I'd made it back to the tent I imagined that Jenny and Alice were fast asleep. I sat down on the grassy slope and starred at the moon. I heard someone walk up behind me, I turned and saw Jenny. "I've seen you in combat. Your fast. Have you been keeping up with your studies?" I asked her, still starring up at the sky. "Not, not exactly..." She said, but she quickly tried to change the subject. "I just miss Chipenden." She complained. I reencountered her previous answer. "We can't have that. Starting tomorrow I'll be catching up on everything we've delayed, and your going to write it all down and study hard." I told her firmly. But I did start to think about Chipenden, I missed the place too, but we had work here, and going home would not being doing any justice to the uprising threat of the Kobalos. We were no longer able to do the luxurious sessions at the bench under the saftey of the boggart.

And then another pain sliced through my head. The boggart! I sprung up to my feet facing Jenny. "How long was I dead, Jenny? How many days?" I asked her frantically.

"Three days, four at the very most, why?" I turned and cursed silently under my breath. This was frustrating. The pet Boggart would be away from the house now, leaving it unprotected. I'd completely forgotten about this until now. I shook my head in anger.

"Once we get back to Chipenden, whenever that might be, the Boggart won't be there." I said. "Why?" She questioned. "My pact with it only would endure three days after my death." I said, sitting back down. "You should get some sleep, Jenny."

"But I've come to ask you something."

"Well, spit it out!" I said, trying to contain my disappointment.

"Can you tell me more about yourself, about your past? Once you died I felt even worse because I hadn't known much about you. I'd hope to learn as my apprenticeship grew, but I didn't know it would be cut short by that much..."

"Jenny," I said, becoming more controlled. "I'll have many things to talk and confide you in, but I must only tell you when the time is right." I told her, sounding like my master. She sighed. "Is there anything specific you'd like to know?" I asked her, wondering if she'd had anything in mind.

"I was just wondering what your apprenticeship was like. What you felt with, and your master." She said, sitting down. I sat down next to her and began where I thought was best.

"Well, my apprenticeship..." I said, looking back up at the sky, "Horrible, unimaginable, scary, terrible things had happened in my apprenticeship... But to no doubt, the best few years of my life."


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: A Day Like None Other**

I went on and on about my John Gregory to Jenny. She even confessed that as she had previously been wandering around, searching for a master, she had once come to my master while I'd been his apprentice! We talked for a while, and it felt nice to just get to know her better. Most of the time a spook and his apprentice were just to have conversations on their work and training. These times were rare.

She went back to the tent after a while, as it was very late, no doubt just a few hours till dawn. I eventually fell asleep under the stars. When I was awoken by Alice, she looked very excited. It looked like very late morning, as the sun was already making its way across the sky. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as Alice tugged on my arm, trying to pull me to my feet. I leaned up, my leg feeling extremely sore. I stood up next to her as Alice continued to pull my arm.

"Alice! What's got you so happy?" I asked her smiling.

"Tom! Oh, soon you'll be the same! Ain't no doubt about it! Come and follow me, Jenny's already there." She told me. What did Alice want to show me? It must have been something pretty exciting, as she had to wake me up for it. I followed her as fast as I could, a limp growing the further I went.

"Alice, where are you taking me?" We were traveling quite far from where we had started.

"We're close, just a inn, not far, Tom." She said, moving even faster. After about five minuets she stopped suddenly and turned around.

"Wait here, I'll bring them out. Jenny will come out as well." She said, and before I could question her, she was off, into a inn. Alice had said _them, _who could she have meant? Not too long after, Jenny came bursting out of the door, turning her head in all directions to find me, she saw me in no time and smiled. She ran to where I was.

"What are you two so excited for? Jenny, why are we here?" I asked her.

"Just look over there!" She said, pointing back at the inn. By now I was confused as ever. What could we possibly be doing here?

"Jenny-" I began, and I needn't have said anything any further. The inn's door burst open once again, and the people who came running out of it made my heart skip a few beats.

"There! Tom!" James called as he ran to me, and all of my brother, all the other five, ran right on after him.

"James!" I said enthusiastically. He gripped me hard in a huge bear huge, driving the breath from my body. Jack was next, followed by Jonathon, Michael, Brian, and William, giving me the tightest hugs. Tears came to my eyes, as I looked around at all of them. Some of my brothers eyes were shinny as well. Last time I'd seen them all was way before I had even started my apprenticeship, as they all were scattered across the county back at home. All of them, except for Jack and James of corse, had changed from the last time I saw them. William an Brian looked taller, and Jonathon looked more muscular. All with brown or green eyes, and brown to almost black hair. They were all fit and healthy, and nothing made me more pleased to see them.

"This is amazing, I wouldn't have expected a family reunion so soon!" I said, laughing with them at my own sense of humor. It was incredible to be surround by all of them. My brother Michael came forward and flung his arm around my shoulders.

"We're all pleased to see you Tom! But I think we must explain ourselves clearly." He said, as everyone turned to go back into the inn. Alice and Jenny came to my side quickly and matched me step for step. Alice hadn't been wrong, now a huge smile was forming on me, the biggest I'd had in a long time.

Once we walked inside the inn we all sat down at a big wooden table. The inn small and empty except for us, so we could talk with out having to watch what we speak of.

"So, please tell me, as great as it is to see all of you..." I started as Jonathon brought us drinks.

"What did you expect, Tom?" Brian said, looking at me with a sad expression on his face with a shake of his head. "Word got around that you'd been killed, it spread like wildfire too! You must be pretty popular in these parts. People near Chipenden spread the word, your their Spook! They wouldn't be nothing without you there to help them with their eerie needs." At that cast my eyes away from my brother. Had the people of Chipenden really took it to heart that I wasn't there? And if so I wanted to get back as soon as possible to reassure them. I wouldn't let them down.

"Jack and James over here herd the whole thing all the way back at the farm." Brian continued. "'Thomas Ward is dead.' Jack got word to all of us fairly quickly, we didn't delay as we met up and traveled here. Worried sick we were, all of us. Of corse we knew for sure that you were dead, but our last respects had to be paid. So that's why we're here. Asked around about you for about a day or two. Eventually we stumbled across this young lady." Brian said, nodding to Jenny. "Me and James recognized her immediately," Jack said stepping into the story. "She told us you were alive but in poor condition. We found it very hard to believe but trusted Jenny. If there were a chance our brother was indeed alive, we had to follow, hadn't we? So we followed her until we came across this here inn." Jack nodded to Jenny. "Said she'd be back with you so we could see that your all right." Jack finished, taking a gulp from his cup.

Frankly I was speechless. The fact that I was seeing all my brothers again was still stricken in my mind, but they had come all the way from the county, some even from far ends of it. I couldn't say anything, so James spoke up.

"We'd truly thought we lost you... Our youngest brother. Wouldn't be able to imagine how that felt if you weren't one of us, Tom. We knew you were dead before we set off on the journey, I guess we just weren't able to process it unless we knew for sure..." James said, his voice trailing off as a lump came to his throat. My brothers eyes were downcast. I finally found the right words to say.

"I'd feel the same way, if it happened, to any of you," I said quietly, looking around at everyone: my brothers, and including Alice and Jenny. Tears came to my eyes and were running down my face before I could stop them. "I was scared. Sure, I felt terrible, the pain was unbearable. The the worst part about it though, was the fact that I was leaving my life. I wanted to see you all again," I said gesturing to my brothers and Alice. "I wanted to grow up and continue my trade as a Spook." I told them, this time looking at Jenny.

I wasn't even embarrassed by my tears. All of these people took my loss to heart, and I had probably scared them badly. The lonely life of a Spook sometimes made you wonder how many people valued your life.

Alice gripped my hand under the table. I looked up at her and she smiled with sympathy. "Scared me, it did. Loosing you took a terrible notice on all of us. Your back for a reason Tom." Alice said. William spoke up, a new smile on his face "I like the way this one speaks!" He called happily, smiling and nodding at Alice. "The dark almost lost one powerful opponent, Tom. Almost. Your going to do great things while you live, there's no doubt in my mind!" All my brother smiled and nodded, including Jack. He didn't like my trade because it put the family in danger sometimes, but now he was along with everyone else. I wiped my tears away.

"Yeah, I always knew you were the hard one to get rid of." My brother Jonathon said, ruffling my hair like he always used to do. We all laughed, smiling at one another. The moment was certainly one like none other. James rose his cup. "To Tom! For whom we wouldn't be a complete family without!" He boomed. Everyone else followed, raising their cup high with a loud "To Tom!" I smiled and nodded to all of them.

"So, Tom, although through these small encounters, please introduce us properly," Michael said smiling and nodding to Jenny and Alice.

"Well, this is Alice, me and her have made it through thick and thin ever sense the beginning of my apprenticeship." She smiled. "And this is Jenny, my apprentice. Jenny, Alice," I said, about to introduce them to my brothers. "Jack and James you both know. This is Brian, Michael, William, and Jonathon." Alice and Jenny shook their hands, greeting and nodding to each of them. We were all in great spirits as we talked and laughed with one another the rest of the afternoon, Alice and Jenny even engulfed in deep conversations with my brothers. Once the individual conversations dialed down, I decided to ask them something.

"How long will you all be able to stay?" I needed to ask because of two very important reasons. Their jobs back home would certainly be attended to for them only temporarily. I didn't want any of my brothers loosing their jobs just so we could talk. I also worried for them. The Shaiksa assassin's supporter would take their revenge upon me at any time once they knew I was very well alive. Who knew how soon that would come? I didn't want them around. It would be to dangerous, and I couldn't afford any of them getting hurt.

"We've each arranged to be away for two weeks at the most, including travel." Brian informed me. "So we'll have to be gone tomorrow or the day after to make sure we're back within the given time. We've already been away for a week, give or take a few days." I was relieved with this response. I wanted them to stay so I could spend more time with each of them, but be well clear of this place when my threat found me.

"Sounds great. Maybe we can move our camp closer to the inn." I suggested, mostly to Alice and Jenny. They nodded and we stood up. I had completely forgotten the pain in my leg. It even felt worse now. It couldn't feel worse, I thought, I'd been making a great improvement... I'd probably just have to wait it out and ignore it.

"We'll be back after dusk. For now, good night." I said as I gave each of them a hug once again, receiving hair bristles and claps on the back in return. With that, me, Alice, and Jenny took our leave and walked under the setting sun.

"Jenny, my thanks for leading my brothers to the right place. I appreciate it and so did they, But I think it would be best for you to inform Grimalkin where we'll be located for the next few days. My guess is she'll want to know where we are. Now go on, I want you to be back before I am!" I told her. Although I had previously wondered what she had been doing when my brothers found her, I didn't question it. She ran on ahead and out of site, leaving me and Alice alone.

"Thank you, Alice, for taking me to see them today. I had a great time." I said, giving her a smile.

"Ain't a problem at all, Tom. I knew you'd be happy to see them, especially with what's happened recently." Alice said, smiling back at me. After a while she spoke again. "You're still limping..."

"It'll be over soon." I said. I truly thought that, but Alice didn't seen convinced.

"Is anything wrong, Tom?" She asked, stopping suddenly.

"Of corse nothing's wrong, Alice. I was just a little sore this morning, that's all." After that Alice still didn't look convinced.

"I'd tell you if I seriously felt ill Alice. I'm, really, completely fine." I said talking her hand and smiling warmly. We reached the tent, folded it up, and were gone almost as soon as we'd gotten there. I didn't know why Alice was so worried. I was speaking the complete truth of what I felt, at the time. Little did I know that I'd only been beginning to feel worse.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19: A Warning**

Me and Alice had made our way back to the inn where my brothers had been staying. I was very please to see that Jenny had brung Grimalkin here before I'd returned. I thanked her and sense was very tired, I decided to go to bed early.

I didn't wake up even for the slightest moment all night.

Someone shook me by the shoulders. My eyes opened slowly, I was still very tired.

"Good morning." My apprentice said to me quietly. I nodded my head lightly and sat up with a struggle. My abdomen was aching, and so was my leg. I also felt a light headache. I sat there for a while until Jenny spoke up. "You've been sleeping forever. It's already after noon..." She said as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

"Of corse it's not Jenny, trying to pull my leg, are you?" I said, trying hard to stand up and not let her notice the struggle I was in.

"I'm serious," she said with a straight face, "see for yourself." Jenny said, gesturing to the outside of the tent before walking out. I made a great deal of effort to stand. I was sweating by the time I'd stood up. I felt unsteady on my feet, and my recent sufferings hurt so much, I clutched my side. We're these some kind of after affects of my physical injuries? They couldn't be, they had already past...

I limped outside, and indeed, the sun looked well past morning settings. Jenny looked at me and a worried expression slipped across her face.

"Are you okay? You look white as sheet, and your already sweating." Jenny said, examining my hand across my stomach. I didn't answer. Alice and Grimalkin came across the grass toward me.

And a terrible pain in my head struck me to my knees. Still clutching my side, I put my other hand to my head. Now both areas of my body were in terrible pain. I tried to get back to my feet quickly, but Alice and Jenny had already rushed to both of my sides and were grasping my arms, pulling me back up to my feet.

"What's going on?" Grimalkin said, examining me.

"I-" I started, breathing heavily. I took my hand away from my head, but continued to clutch my side. I looked at Alice. I wanted to say I was fine. I didn't want to lay in bed, sick again. But I knew I wasn't okay. Everyone knew that. And although it made me feel weak to admit it, I felt terrible.

"I don't know..." I said wearily. My hand began to feel slightly moist. I shrugged it off as sweat, but Jenny's eyes widened in terror.

"Your shirt!" She said loudly. I looked down, and a wave of panic flashed through me. It was blood. Blood was quickly seeping through my shirt suddenly.

"Alice, help him. Sit down, Tom." Grimalkin said calmly, but with a hint of questioning.

She gripped my arm while Alice released it and ran off into the trees. Grimalkin helped Jenny lower me to the ground before cutting my shirt and then tugging it from my body. It was covered in blood. She threw it to the side and looked at the source of the blood escape. No surprise, as it was the cut Kauspetnd had made on me.

"The scales, they were dissolving. The last ones remaining are cut." She looked at me.

"Who did this?" She asked demandingly. I struggled for words, I was growing very faint from the loss of blood. I closed my eyes.

"No one. I don't know how..." I mumbled. I felt blood flowing down my side, forming a red pool on the grass.

"Alice!" Grimalkin hissed back to the tent. Alice came running back, carrying water, leaves, and a few pieces of cloth. What I didn't see her carrying was the needle she had used on me before. I needed another shot directly into my wound. Alice went down on the grass quickly and soaked up some of the blood with Grimalkin's assistance. The atmosphere was starting to feel dizzy. I looked at Jenny and our eyes locked. I felt bad that her apprenticeship wasn't going anywhere when I was injured half the time. She deserved better. I was knocked out before Alice had even given me the shot.

I awoke sometime later, in the same spot. It was almost dawn, and everything was quiet. It was also slightly chilly. This brought my attention to what had happened previously. I sat up in the slightest as I looked at my cut, it looked better than it had before and It wasn't hurting anymore. I tried to look around for my shirt, but then I remembered that it had been soaked in blood. I did see Alice though, sitting a couple yards away, admiring the setting sun.

"Alice." I called softly, pulling myself up into a sitting position. When she heard me she sprung up to her feet and ran to me, landing on her knees in front of me. I got to my knees slowly as she rested her hands on my shoulders and kissed me softly on the lips. Then she stopped and hugged me tightly, clearly avoiding my cut. I embraced her back, thankful that she had saved my life once again.

"So worried, I was." Alice said quietly, sounding relieved.

"Thank you, Alice." I said warmly, admiring her comfort when it lasted. A few moments later my brother James came out carrying my staff. Me and Alice separated. She stood up and I smiled up at her. James didn't say a word and just handed me my staff. Feeling slightly uncomfortable as I had no shirt on in front of my older brother, I slowly rose to my feet. Before getting a grip on my staff I leaned forward and would have fell onto my face if my brother hadn't caught me in another warmly embracing hug. Alice laughed softly, and me and my brother followed suit.

"You've got more lives than a cat, Tom, I'd bet on it." James said. I hugged him back. I wouldn't have been surprised if it were true. How much more pain would I have to endure?

James let go and held my shoulders while I gripped my staff.

"Now, if I turn my back again, you better promise me you won't die." He said looking into my eyes, half joking and half meaning it.

"I'll try my best, James. Where's everyone else?" I asked. He gestured back to the inn.

"Their in there. I told them that we shouldn't bombard you with people after you woke up." James said, letting go of my shoulders slowly. I looked to the inn.

"I'm a Spook, James, I'll meet up with people any chance I get." I said, and with that I put one foot in front of the other. Limping badly, and with the great help of my staff, I led Alice and James to the inn. I opened the door wide, to see Grimalkin, Jenny, and the other five of my brothers look up at me.

"Guess who's still alive." James said. Me and him laughed, but stopped awkwardly when no one else joined in. Alice looked confused as well. Grimalkin stood up and I looked at her.

"I think I've figured out exactly why your scales cut open again." She said, not bothering to lower her tone in front of my brothers. They looked at me in shock, so did James, who had seen me with them just a few moments ago. I looked down. They were gone. The scales were gone. I looked back up at everyone.

"Scales? Cut open? What's this about?" Jonathon asked me. I starred at him. I was angry, but somewhat relieved. Why was this discussion happening in front of my brothers? I didn't like her talking about this in front of my family, those who, sadly, didn't know our mam's true identity. Me and Grimalkin were to talk privately about this. But the scales were gone. This had to be a good thing... Hadn't it?

"I'm sorry, guys, I need a word with Grimalkin quickly. I'll have to explain later." I told them. I nodded to Grimalkin and we made our leave outside. Once we were outside before I questioned her, Alice and Jenny came out as well. Grimalkin shook her head.

"You must go back inside, Jenny. This is not for you to hear." She said.

"And why not? As my apprentice I think she has the right to have a full understand of what's going on." I retorted.

"As you wish, as long as your comfortable with her knowing about your inheritance from your mother..." Grimalkin said to me. I had second thoughts then. Should Jenny know about my mam's identity and how it has impacted on me? I looked at her. Jenny would have to know about it sooner or later. And right now would probably be a better time than later, when it was a random subject.

I sighed.

"Jenny, the reason why I have- err, had, scales on my cut was because..." She looked like she debating on whether or not she should know. Alice gave me a smile and a nod, urging me on. I put my hand on Jenny's shoulder.

"Lamia witches are another form of a malevolent witch. And the very first one of them all, was my mother." I said, bluntly. Jenny looked at me, maybe wondering if it was true. She stepped back so suddenly, my arm dropped back to my side. Her face looked almost scared.

"You have witch blood in you... Your part witch! And you never told me this side of you?" She said, tears coming to her eyes.

"Jenny, it's not a bad-" I tried to say. She cut me off.

"I don't want to hear it. I'm going back to the tent. Good luck with your 'scales'." She said. That was not something to joke about, and she said her words with a hint of sarcasm. She walked off, clearly very upset. And I just felt worse. She didn't understand, and I could explain to her if she would just interrupt. My master wouldn't have tolerated anything like it. Especially if it was something about him that he couldn't control. I turned and limped a few feet away. When I stopped, everything except for the breeze was silent.

"Tom..." Alice said gently from behind.

"What is it you wanted to tell me, Grimalkin." I said without turning to face them.

"You were clutching your cut and your head before your your scales cut open, is that correct?" Grimalkin asked.

"Yes." I told her, wondering where she was going with this.

"I told you previously about how when a Shaiksa assassin is defeated by an opponent, his followers hunt down his killer, well I've found out that the information including your location is sent from your mind to your new trackers. I also believe they had something to do with your scales splitting open. I think they weaken their enemy before an attack to have a better chance at killing you a second time."

How could Grimalkin know this? It was crazy, but it made sense. If this was true, a wave of fury was sent through me. They wanted to fight me again. Well this time I wasn't afraid. I wanted revenge, revenge to the people who almost took my life away. I would try my very best to kill them off, as I did with Kauspetnd. But this time, I wouldn't go down with them. I turned around to face Grimalkin and Alice.

"Okay. When will they come?" I asked her simply.

"They'll be coming now." She said. I nodded. I needed to part my brothers off so they could go back home, and I needed to talk with Jenny.

"I will keep watch, and when I see them, I'll warn you and you can join me to fight them off." Said Grimalkin. Immediately I shook my head.

"No, I will deal with them myself. I don't want anyone getting involved."

"The state your in says otherwise. I will help you." Grimalkin retorted.

"This is my fight, not yours," I said, getting frustrated. "Even if your by my side they'll come for me because I killed Kauspetnd." I told her.

"And look at what happened! You went down with him, in perfect condition I might add," Grimalkin hissed. Why couldn't she just let me deal with my own problems alone? I opened my mouth to protest once again, but Alice stepped in.

"What if Grimalkin stepped in to help you, Tom, only if you really needed it?" Alice suggested.

I wasn't best pleased, and I still didn't like the idea, but Grimalkin wouldn't do what I think best anyways. Grimalkin nodded, and so did I. I turned on my heel and started to walk off to find Jenny. Alice ran up to me.

"I know why you want to fight them alone, Tom. Ain't hard to see that, but Grimalkin also wants something. She wants to redeem herself. Knew she made a big mistake, making you fight that assassin, she did." What Alice said made sense. It made me feel better about Grimalkin trying to help. She'd probably never admit it, but this could be true. Maybe she was trying to make it up to me...

**What do you think of this update? Thank you for all the supportive comments!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Too Much**

Me and Alice walked on in silence until I stopped and sighed, pondering over how badly Jenny took the news of my inheritance. Not to mention the fact that Kauspetnd's followers will be hunting me down now and my brothers weren't safely on a ride back home. Alice came over to me and locked her hand in mine.

"Do you think she'll understand, Alice?" I asked her, staring up at the sky and leaning on my staff. She looked up at me and smiled.

"Of corse, Tom. Jenny didn't know what to think at first, but she's had time to think about it. She'll understand, she will." Alice said reassuringly. I hugged her suddenly and she embraced me back. I missed her comfort and support, the kind that only she could give me. As we pulled apart I kissed her gently on the cheek. We smiled at each other and I took her hand and led her to my apprentice, a new confidence brewing inside me.

Jenny had told me she would be back at the tent so we looked there first. When I didn't see her I started to get worried, but I relaxed when I heard thuds on a tree down by a lake. Me and Alice made our way toward her. She didn't notice because she was not facing us. She was having a very heated combat session with the tree trunk with some of Grimalkin's blades. She was fast and hard, driving the blades deep into the wood. I watched her until she stopped, pulling the last few daggers from the tree.

"I see Grimalkin has been training you well." I called to her, wondering how she'd react to my presence. She was sweating and breathing hard. She turned around and I walked toward her. Her face looked like she was still deciding something.

"Jenny, I do apologize for not telling you about my mam. You should have known before you decided to be trained by me. I hope you'll understand and accept my-"

I stopped suddenly as Jenny had came forward and hugged me.

I was certainly surprised, I'd never hugged my master...

Before I could react she let go and dropped her gaze uncomfortably.

"No, I'm sorry for reacting like that. It just came to a big surprise to me, that's all. I judged you harshly too quickly, and I'm know I was wrong to do so, and..." Tears came to her eyes, I'd never seen her in this state before.

"I'm sorry for leaving you like that! I was being rude and ungrateful for everything you've done for me especially after you almost lost your life and I made that stupid comment about your scales which I shouldn't have done," she ranted, shaking her head at disapproval of herself. I put a hand lightly on her shoulder before she could continue.

"It's okay Jenny. It's a hard thing to accept but it has no turn on where I stand, and you know where that is."

She smiled and let out a sigh of relief. Alice smiled sweetly and turned to head back to my brothers inn when a look of horror and worrying flashed through her pretty face.

"Tom! Oh Tom I'm so sorry." She said tearing up as me and Jenny ran to her side.

"Oh no." Jenny gasped as I saw the scene before me. My heart skipped a beat before I dropped my staff to the ground.

My brothers were crowded around two bodies on the ground. Could I dare to hope? I ran forward and knelt beside them, examine the terribly injured figures.

The dead body's of Brian and William.

Blood was everywhere, and knives were protruding from each of their stomachs. Exactly what had been done to me had been done to them.

I felt their ice cold faces frantically as I tried to shake them as if they were still breathing. James squeezed my hand so hard I thought the bones inside would break along with my heart. Tears streamed down our faces. This wasn't right. Why... And how, had two of my brothers come to such a sudden death? What happened while I was away? Surely they weren't dead? They couldn't be, I'd left for a such a short time, everything calm. No, I needed an explanation before the worst came to worst... I stood up, turning to wipe away the last of my tears. I turned back to my brothers.

"What exactly happened to them?" I said, trying to keep my voice as steady as possible.

Before James, Jack, Michael or Jonathon could bring themselves to answer, Grimalkin came rushing to my side.

"Read this." She said calmly as she handed me a note. I took it and read it quietly to myself as everything was silent but the sobs from my brothers.

_You saw what we're capable of. You witnessed it as well. _

_We killed two of your brothers today, but you still have four more. _

_Unless more deaths are to follow, you must come to us on the lands where you fought Kauspetnd._

_Call this what you will, revenge or rematch._

_We'll call it a retribution._

My heart was beating out of my chest. Everyone looked at me, anticipating what the note said. Everyone except Grimalkin. But I wanted something from her before the matters of this note could be discussed.

Tears formed my eyes as I forced myself to voice out my thoughts.

"They killed them." Grimalkin nodded.

"They came soon after you left with Alice. I could deal with a few at a time but there were too many and some distracted me as others ran inside the inn to attack..." She didn't finish her sentence out of politeness. My brothers were gone.

"You should have left. I should have told you to leave before things got out of hand." I spoke to myself but turned to my confused brothers.

"You have to leave, quickly. I'm not loosing anymore of you," tears were streaming down my brothers faces, as well as my own.

"What happened to them, Tom." Michael said quietly. He looked me in the eyes before I responded.

"When someone kills the assassin, their followers seek revenge on the killer. And that would be me," I said more quietly. "This seems one way they go about the punishment." I said bitterly.

"What does the note say, Tom?" Alice asked softly. As I looked at her the only thing I wanted was to hold her in my arms. I needed her comfort now than ever. I had to clear my throat before I read it aloud. Once I finished I looked at my brothers.

"This is why all of you must leave, before I put you in anymore danger."

"Tom what if they kill you again? And what about them," Michael asked gesturing down to our brothers. I starred at James, Jack, Michael and Jonathon as they stood up. We starred at each other for what seemed like forever. There was only one thing we could do with Brian and William's dead bodies.

They had to be buried here.

Tears streamed down our faces even more. James came forward and hugged me, followed by the rest of my brothers. We stayed like that for a while. We were all that was left. Our family would never be the same again. Figuring that fact out was bad enough, but accepting it was another matter. Me and my brothers broke apart. James was the first to speak.

"If you think it's best, we'll leave now Tom." I nodded and followed them back inside. They packed up their belongings in silence. Nobody spoke. They must have been confused beyond belief, but maybe the reluctance to know the full truth of things held back their questions. By now it was getting dark outside. I needed to deal with my brothers bodies before I went to bed. It all was so sudden and very hard to bear.

Depression was in the air as I walked them to the bay. Their boat had arrived quite quickly, but as we sat and waited no one said a word. When the boat came in view we all stood up. Jack walked up to me first.

"You'll be home soon, right? I won't be able to bear anything before I know you back home safely. We're lucky word got around about you..." I tried to sound reassuring.

"I'll stop by the farm when I come back, Jack. Don't worry." We hugged tight as my heart ripped to pieces. He made his way to the boat and got aboard. Michael and Jonathon came forward together. Michael hugged me first, than Jonathon.

"It was great seeing you Tom," Jonathon said, "You've grown so much sense we last saw you." I smiled sadly at him as Michael ruffled my hair one last time.

"What ever your planning on doing here Tom, make it quick. Come back home safely, our youngest brother..." He looked at Jonathon and they both shook their heads.

"I couldn't do what your doing now, especially at such a young age. Be careful, please." Jonathon said quietly. I nodded and watched them aboard the boat. I had just turned my body when James came forward and hugged me tightly, driving all the breath from my body. When we finally broke apart he looked me in the eye.

"I didn't like the sound of that letter you read to us, Tom. Be careful, and come home as soon as you can. We'll be wishing you good luck back at home." Then he leaned forward and whispered in my ear something I'd never forget.

"Make them pay for the deaths they caused." I nodded one last time and watched as he headed to the boat I waited until they had sailed away before I let the tears run down my face once more.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Again**

I didn't know what to think. My brothers had come here with sad intentions of attending a funeral for me, but instead they left with twice more brothers gone.

It just wasn't fair, I thought sadly.

I turned to leave, now walking in complete darkness. But I didn't care, it matched my mood better than it would if it were sunny.

As I got closer to the inn, I became aware of someone's presence in front of me. I looked up and saw Jenny, she starred at me, not saying anything. I sighed deeply and tried to speak, I tried to wish her a goodnight but nothing came out of my mouth. I cleared my throat and nodded toward her in the darkness.

"Goodnight, Jenny." I said quietly, turning without another word toward my brothers bodies. As I knelt next to them I herd Jenny's footsteps leading away to the tent.

"It's all my fault. You shouldn't have come here," I whispered to myself. I half dragged, half carried their bodies to the tent's side. I couldn't barry them as it was already very late. I'd do it tomorrow.

Jenny got the tent space, so I grabbed a blanket quietly and laid down on the grass under the stars. I herd Alice's pointy shoes walking toward me. I stood up slowly and faced her. She walked toward me and held my hands.

"You okay?" She asked softly. I turned my head and fought the inner demand of sobbing again. I couldn't speak so I said nothing. I let go of her hands, turned around, and sat back down. I wanted to be alone, yet I also wanted Alice's comfort. I laid down once again and closed my eyes. I herd Alice come and sit down beside me. She nuzzled her head close to my chest and wrapped her arm around my own. Her warmth made me forget the chills that had ran down my spine. But even so the image of my brothers dead bodies couldn't escape my mind. They were gone, and I was never going to see them again.

Today was a day I was never going to forget.

"Alice." I called softly. In response, she mumbled something I didn't understand. I turned my head toward her and a wave of terror washed over me. Alice's face was pale beyond belief, and she looked like she was having trouble breathing. I quickly turned to try and help her but tears ran down her face as she was loosing oxygen too fast. She must have been choking for a while, I thought. Within seconds her blank eyes were staring up into mine, unable to see the tears running down my face.

"No!" I said, jumping to my feet as fast as I could. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as vigorously and quickly as possible to clear my vision. I looked down to where Alice had been laying durning the night. My heart skipped a beat: She wasn't there.

"Alice!" I yelled before I even looked around me.

"Tom?" I immediately turned around. Relief washed through me as I ran to her without thinking. It was only a dream yet it seemed so real. I held her hands in mine, staring at her pretty face. She smiled as she spoke.

"Are you okay, Tom?" She asked. I let go of her hands suddenly and spoke hastily.

"Of corse. Just a bad dream..."

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked me softly. I shook my head.

"No, no, it just seemed so real." I told her. It was a dream best to be forgotten.

"Where's Jenny?" I asked Alice, trying to change the topic.

"She's still asleep." I nodded and then closed my eyes tightly in mental grief. I had to deal with my brothers bodies today. I didn't want to be reminded of what had been done to them, but they needed to be buried. And I felt I should be the one to do it. Alice looked at me, her facial expression questioning and a little worried. I shrugged it off and turned around heading toward the inn. I needed to dig two pits and purchase the same amount of coffins. This should be professional, I wanted them to be buried properly. I sighed. Suddenly I felt small arms wrap around my waist from behind. Alice put her head on my shoulder and waited a moment before she spoke.

"Let's get them wrapped up best we can. Then we'll get the coffins." She said. Alice removed her hands from my waist, gently took hold of my left hand, and headed off to get the materials.

It took us till about mid-afternoon before they were in their coffins and inside the big gaps in the Earth. The last thing to do now was to cover them up. And say my last goodbyes.

Me and Alice covered them up in no time. I took Alice's shovel, walked over and leaned it against the side of the empty inn, and walked back to her.

"Leave you alone, I will." She said quietly. "I'll see you later, Tom." She said as she gasped my hands and kissed me slowly on the cheek. After a moment she pulled away, smiling sadly as she walked back to the tent. I turned back toward my brothers and slid back the hood of my cloak. Tears slid down my cheeks. I didn't know what to say. If I even found the right words, how could I speak? I breathed in deep breaths, trying to control myself. That done I said little, in worry that I'd loose it again.

"Michael, Brian, I'm going to miss you. You shouldn't have died here, and I'll make sure to avenge the people who tore our family apart. Thank you for coming to see me off, now... Now I'll return the favor. I love you." I closed my eyes and stood up. I stared at the grave for a second.

And then it happened.

Almost too quickly to comprehend. A hand forcibly covered my mouth, preventing me to speak. It was a strong grip, I noticed. My temporary captor pulled out a sword, brandishing it in front of my face. When he spoke it confirmed who I thought it was.

"You didn't die easily. This time we'll make it faster."


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22: Assassins Third Strike**

Of corse it was another Shaiksa assassin. His hands over my mouth and his voice rasping behind me, I turned my thoughts to Alice and Jenny. Would they be okay? How many others where here?

Foolishly, the man had only covered my mouth and was probably expecting a little talk. Otherwise, why wouldn't he have killed me on the spot? My mind raced back to my brothers. These were their murderers. And if they wanted to kill me after what they had done to them, they were going to be very disappointed.

My anger infuriated as I elbowed him in the ribs, shocking him momentarily, causing him to take a involuntary pace backward. I drew the Starblade, it's rust falling to the ground. I had kept the sword on me at all times, knowing they would catch me by surprise like this. But I'd no idea it would be this soon.

My opponent griped his sword, and as he prepared to attack I noticed the characteristic similarities between him and Kauspetnd. But as he thrust forward I also noted that, although good enough, his speed and accuracy was nothing close to Kauspetnd's.

And If I could kill Kauspetnd, I could surely kill this assassin too.

But that was before all my recent injuries; these were putting small doubts in my mind. Of corse I was capable but I was worn out quicker these days. I figured I needed a proper rest, for all my misgivings to heal properly. I cursed under my breath, if only I could heal faster. Because, unfortunately, I still had a slight limp to prove it all.

I shook myself, _concentrate. _

I deflected his attack with my own sword, followed by a quick step to the side and a sideward swing of the Starblade. The assassin just barley blocked it as he turned toward me and ducked my next slash. He came up again, but as he did so I pressed him backward, allowing myself the better position. Our blades clashed each others over and over again until I caught him off guard on his left side. Both hands now on the handle I swung it into his side, penetrating a fatal wound into his torso. He fell to the ground in anguish, moaning until his breathing slowed and stopped altogether.

I turned and ran back toward the tent, but as I turned a corner a scene was already taking place.

Grimalkin was battling two assassins alternately, but another two were now heading toward her.

I ran to her side, cutting off the other two's path, reeling them to a stop. My sword slashed at them, me giving a fair share of thrust to the each of them as well. Grimalkin, having had killed one off, threw a blade at the speed of light toward one of my opponents and clanged him to a tree. I ducked his companions dangerous strike, ran forward and stabbed the assassin, pinned to the tree, in the heart. Blood stained his clothing as I turned just in time to meet another attack. He bounded toward me. At the last moment I stepped to the side, held out my foot and tripped him. He fell to the ground only after my blade pierced his neck.

I turned around, seeing Grimalkin kill off what seemed to be the last assassin with a killing strike to the head. He fell to the ground, along with the others. I just then noticed Jenny, walking over to us. I was relived, she wasn't harmed.

But it wasn't over.

We heard a blood chilling scream from one side of the tent.

Alice.

Me, Jenny, and Grimalkin ran to the sounds source, finding two more assassins, one running to Alice, who sat still under the other assassins influence. Grimalkin hurled a throwing knife at the one who was charging as I sped toward the one threatening Alice. It's hand flicked quickly before I jabbed the Starblade into his back from behind. Alice screamed once more. I yanked my sword back, and kicked him to the side so he wouldn't fall on Alice.

"Do you think we got them all?" I asked Grimalkin, who, like me, was breathing heavily. I pulled the assassins dead weight away as she responded.

"I will look around. I won't tolerate any ambushes when we're trying to sleep." She said, her tone frustrated. She turned abruptly and headed off. I turned and walked toward Alice to see if she was okay.

"Tom..." It was Alice's voice, and the sound of her pained tone made me worry immediately.

But I only needed to take a few steps closer to see what had happened.

Alice's upper right arm had been pierced with one of the assassins daggers, and blood was running down her arm. Immediately I kneeled down and put a hand on her shoulder, starring into her tear filled eyes.

"Alice, look at me." I said quickly, shaking her gently. She looked up at me, her lip trembling.

"Quickly, what do we need?" I said hastily. We needed to get the dagger out of her arm and clean up her cut to prevent any further bleeding or infection.

She was already bleeding enough, I thought.

Alice listed about half a dozen herbs quietly but quickly. She knew as well as I did that she was the only one who could heal herself properly. I turned to Jenny.

"Jenny can I trust you can get these things?"

"Yes, I'll be right back." And with that she fled from the area, quickly searching for the requirements needed to help Alice. I looked back at her.

"Alice, please, you have to stick with me." I said, as tears fell down her face. She was loosing too much blood, and if she went unconscious, there was nothing she could do. In that case... It was too much to bear.

"I'm going to take out the blade." I said soothingly as I removed my hand from her shoulder and grasped her hand.

"Alice, I'm so sorry, this is going to hurt." I said softly, even though my heart was racing. She was trembling from head to toe. No doubt, with what had happened, she was in a little shock. I enclosed my hand around the handle, slowly I wriggled it out, feeling a deep pain in my heart as a small cry escaped from her lips. It took me a minute to completely pull the dagger out. I didn't want to rush because I could accidentally cause more damage, but the pain must have been unbearable.

And in pain like that, one minute can seem a lifetime.

Once out, I threw the knife to the side and tore off my sleeves from my shirt, about to wrap them around her arm to slow the bleeding. But before I got even that far I noticed something. The bone was fractured.

Alice needed Grimalkin. Previously, her leg being broken, she had used silver pins to heal he injury. Alice's case before me wasn't as bad, her bone hadn't broke, but it had been fractured.

And Grimalkin should be the one to mend it.

I made Alice look at me once more by lifting her chin.

"Hey, your gonna be okay." My face centimeters from hers. I smiled as warmly as I could to reassure her. Wether I succeeded or not I wasn't sure. She became more drowsy but Jenny came rushing back with the supplies and I told her to find Grimalkin and tell her to come back to the tent immediately, then to get water from the lake: we might need it to wake Alice in case she went unconscious.

Jenny rushed off again, in search for Grimalkin.

"Alice," I said, holding her shaking hand, "it looks like the bone is fractured, Jenny's getting Grimalkin to help. She brought your herbs as well."

I felt completely and utterly useless. Alice's own arm was injured and she had to fix it herself. She looked at me but her eyes wouldn't focus.

"Tom, rub this on the cut, around and inside it." She said in a mumble, pointing to a jar with a creamy substance in it. I figured it was to clean the wound. I did as she said immediately. She flinched in the process. Once done I put the substance down and rose to find Grimalkin bounding toward me. She had medical materials in her hands. Jenny must have explained the task. I moved to Alice's right side and sat down next to her, scooting close and wrapping my arm around her.

Grimalkin kneeled down in front of Alice and spoke quickly.

"This is going to hurt, but whatever you do, don't move." Grimalkin had experienced this treatment understood how important the facts were.

It was going to hurt like Hell, but she could not move.

Alice's silent tears rand down her face as she nodded and without further words, Grimalkin set to work. Alice rested her head on my shoulder. I kissed her softly on her forehead. As I grabbed her hand, I squeezed it affectionately. She squeezed back in pain and stress. After a few moments, Grimalkin halfway done her treatment, Jenny came back. She set down a bucket full with water, and looked at me, expecting the next command. I shook my head and smiled wearily in thanks. Jenny sat down in front of us and watched Grimalkin intently. I called to Alice.

"Alice?" She didn't respond so I took my hand out of hers and moved her head slowly toward mine. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing slowly. She was unconscious.

"She's unconscious." I told Grimalkin. Without looking up from her task she responded with what I expected her to say.

"We'll leave her that way until I'm finished, but make sure she keeps breathing. After I'm done we can wake her and I'll take my leave." Grimalkin needed to get back to her business of searching for hidden assassins that was suddenly interrupted.

We couldn't let them take us by surprise again.

I nodded and waited patiently until she finished. She stood up, and pushed Alice's herbs toward me.

"Pour some water on her until she wakes up, then show her the herbs. She'll remember quickly what she must do and will need your help. Once she stitches up the wound don't let her move the arm too much." Grimalkin nodded to Jenny. "Let's go." Jenny stood up.

"Your armed?" I asked. I was totally convinced Grimalkin could handle any sudden threat to either of them but I wasn't going to let my apprentice go off unarmed.

"Yes, I will loan her some of my weapons. Besides, she's capable." Grimalkin said walking off as she called back over her shoulder.

"Bet you thought that 'pinning to the tree' move was me?" I was surprised and impressed. When a dagger had pinned the assassin I was facing to the tree, Jenny had thrown it, not Grimalkin. I turned my thoughts back to Alice. As Jenny and Grimalkin walked out of sight I cupped my hands and got water from the bucket, slowly pouring it over Alice. It wasn't till about the third time repeating this she woke up with a start. She sat up and looked at me as realization dawned in her eyes. Or at least, that's what it looked like.

"Alice, you can't move your arm. Grimalkin wants to make sure it heals well."

"My arm? What about it?" She asked me.

I caught my breath. She was acting almost as if she didn't remember... No, surely she did, she was just unconscious for a few minuets, she couldn't loose her memory that quickly! She saw me draw in a huge breath and smiled.

"About time you knew how it felt! Worried sick when you lost your memory, I was!"

I closed my mouth and starred at her. She had just been pulling my leg.

"You know this wouldn't be the best of times, your still bleeding." I sighed, I was so worried about her I couldn't take a joke. Alice nodded toward the herbs.

"Better clean the cut one last time, then I can use further remedies. Then I'll stitch up the cut and it should be well and done. I'm glad the worst is through though." She shuddered. I smiled at her and grasped her hand momentarily, then I grabbed the cleaning medicine I'd used before. I cleaned her cut, and she didn't flinch this time. She must already be feeling better.

Alice picked up a jar with yellow liquid and after hesitating, she held it out to me.

"I can't do it, would you mind pouring half of this into the wound?"

"Of corse not, Alice." I took the jar from her and gently raised it a little, to much movement would be very painful for her. I poured the liquid in her wound as she flinched and breathed in with gritted teeth.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, feeling bad at having her in a state like this. She nodded quickly.

"Yes, once your done I'll take these plants and press them against the cut." Alice held up some leaves as I finished my job. I put the jar down and she pressed the leaves to her cut. Once finished, she put the remaining leaves aside and sighed.

"Now we'll wait until I take the leaves off and I can stitch up the cut."

I sat back down next to her and she smiled.

Alice turned her head toward mine and I looked deeply into her beautiful eyes. Then I leaned forward and kissed her in relief that she was going to be okay.

"Those assassins... I swear..." I muttered.


End file.
